L 448 Aelian Characteristics Of Animals II: 6 11

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| | ON THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF ANIMALS

43th Ἐπ crater

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
A. F. SCHOLFIELD

FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

ELAS ἘΒΌΩΝ BE GS Qs RR Et Bia at BEML AN Yi iid Pade is

PEST,

tN ISTO USI STS ESSA BS SS Pea eae east

IN THREE VOLUMES
I]

BOOKS VI-—-XI

sy

LONDON ee Rosana on
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY | PRESS
: MOMLIX. -

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© The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1959

5

CONTENT

PAGE

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SUMMARY
BOOK Vi
BOOK VIE
BOOK 1
BOOK IX
BOOK X

Printed in Great. Britain

355

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Page xiv, line 7 from bottom : for boredom, read boredom. (full
stop for comma)
xxvi, line 6, and elsewhere: for viz. read viz
19, margin: for Parro read Parrot
109, note a: for χρινοῦν read χρυσοῦν
165, margin: for conjuga read conjugal
185, line 1: for un read un-
191, margin of ch. 28: for ‘Perseus read ‘ Perseus’
257, note 5: for 1875 read 1876
335, last line: for knowledge. read knowledge, (comma for
full stop) |

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Boox Vi

1 Animal courage.
nence of athletes
9 A tame Leopard
3 The Bear
4 The Snake,
poison
5 The Stag and its antlers
6 The Horse in battle
1 The Crow of King Mares
§ The care of animals
9 The Bear and its cubs
10 (i) Docility of certain ani-
mals
(ii) Memory im animals
11 The Deer and its young
12 Tortoise and Viper
13 The Deer, its frugality
14 The Hyena, its narcotic
powers
15 Dolphin and boy at Iassus
16 Prophetic powers of ani-
mals
17 Serpent in love with a girl
18 The Snake, its voracity
and speed
19 The song of Birds; ability
to imitate other sounds
20 The Scorpion :
kinds
21 Elephant and Python
22 Enmities and fears of ani-
mals
23 The Scorpion in Libya
24 The Fox and Hedgehog;
and Bustards; and small
Fish; the Fox tests ice

Conti-

various

its diet of

SUMMARY

25 Devotion of Dogs to their

56

masters
The Monkey-spider
The Cat
The Octopus
Eagle and boy
The Hake
The Crab and music
The Sprat and music
Egyptian magic
The Beaver
The ‘ Buprestis’
The Caterpillar
The Gadfly. The Horse-fly
The Asp, its bite fatal.
The Ichneumon .
Animals abhor incest
Heracles revered by Mice
The Mouse in Egypt: |
The story of Crathis
Ants and their nests
The Horse’s devotion to its
master
Birds and their enmities
Substances fatal to Birds
The Hare

' The Mare’s love for its foal] -

An aged Mule

Cleanthes and the Ants

The ‘ Dipsas.’ Fable of Ass
and ‘ Dipsas’ Ἔ

An Elephant punishes dis-
honesty

The Dog in Egypt

The Hedgehog

The Limpet

The Elephant and its hun-
ters

3

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4

SUMMARY

The Spider’s web

The Phoenix

The Dog, its reasoning
power

The Camel, its modesty

The Elephant’s respect for
old age

Gelon and his dog

Snake befriends boy

Fox and Hedgehog

Wolves and fishermen

Boox VII

The Cows of Susa

A home for aged Elephants

The Aurochs

The Bull, its docility

The ‘ Catoblepon ’

The Elephant when hunted

Birds as weather-prophets

Animals as
prophets

The Hawk in Egypt

The Dog’s devotion to its
master; Galba’s dog

Octopus and Eagle

The Women of Paconia.
A pregnant Hound

Dog reveals sacrilege

The Goat cures cataract

Elephants, their mutual
devotion. Laenilla and
her sons

Eagle and Tortoise

Ceryl and Halcyon

The Raven

Animal peculiarities

Hungry Wolves

Monkey and baby

The Hyena. The ‘Coro-
cottas’

A Lion’s vengeance

The Crab: various species

Lap-dog reveals adulterer

The Goat and human
spittle

ἘΣ RSG eS EERE a US SR ITI EAQIS cw tae tirana ue OARS NU FEM RR ERR RIND

weather--

27 The Sheep. Winds pro- ©

mote fertility

28 Icarius and the Hound of
EHrigone

29 A faithful Hound

30 The ‘ Flying Crab °

$81 The Hermit Crab

32 The King Whelk

33 The. Sea-urchin

34 The Purple Shellfish

35 The ‘Scolopendra’ of the
sea,

36 A stampede of Elephants

37 Porus and his Elephant

38 The Dog as companion

39 A horned Hind

40 The Dog’s devotion to its
master. Dog as king

41 Lacydes and his Goose.

Pyrrhus and his Ele-
phant
42 Thales and his Mule
43 Elephant and flower-seller
44 The Elephant a sun-wor-
shipper
45 (i) Egyptian priests and
their ablutions
(ii) The Elephant as sur-
| geon |
(111) Nicknames

46 Mithridates, his bodyguard :

47° Names for the young of
Animals
48 Androcles and the Lion

Boor VIII

1 Indian Hounds bred from
tigers

2 The Hound’s delight in
hunting

3 The Dolphin, its gratitude

4 (i) Tame Fishes

{ii) Tame Crocodiles
5 Divination by Fishes
6 Hunters and hunted

ΤΙΝ 3. SE Ba et Ve WE ΣΝ Ὁ ἔριν

UAB LORAINE

SUMMARY

7 Animals poisonous to the
touch
g The Amphisbaena
9 The Dog and its medicines
19 An Elephant hunt
11 Love of beauty in animals
12 The ‘ Pareas’ snake
13 The ‘Sibritae’ scorpions.
Various Snakes
14 Wolves and Ox
15 Elephants cross a ditch
16 The Sponge
17 The Elephant, its conti-
nence; reveals murder
18 The Anchovy
19 Pigs and pirates
20 Stork punishes adulteress
9] Waters that change the
colour of Sheep
92 Woman of Tarentum and
Stork
23 The Smooth Lobster
24 The Indian Mynah
25 The Egyptian Plover
26 The Sting-ray
27 The young Elephant
98 The Sturgeon. The ‘ An-
thias’

Boox IX

1 The Lion in old age
2 The Eagle’s feathers
3 TheMouse. TheCrocodile
and its young
4 The Asp, its fangs. The
Scorpion, its sting
5 Puppies
6 The Moon, its influence on
Shellfish and Animals
7 (i) The Basse and its oto-
lith
(1) Fishes and their ὁ para-
sites ἢ
8 The Elephant and its
young

9 The Seal

10 The Eagle

11 The Malmignatte and the
Asp, their bites

12 The Fox-shark

13 Frogs and their mating

14 The Torpedo -

15 The stings and bites of
various creatures

16 The Snake and its eyesight

17 The Haleyon and its nest

18 The herb Wolf’s-bane

19 Dead bodies in wine, in oil

20 The ‘ Thracian stone’ —

21 Helen of Troy and Snakes
in Pharos

22 Starfish and Oysters

23 The Amphisbaena

24 The Fishing-frog

25 Crayfish and Octopus

26 Snakes and certain herbs

27 The Aconite

28 Flesh of the Pig

29 Snakes at the source of the
Euphrates

30 The Lion’s tracks

31 Hiccups and its cure

32 Henbane, how gathered

33 Intestinal Worm

34 The Argonaut

35 The depths of the Sea

36 The ‘ Adonis’ fish

37 Grafting of trees -

38 The Sea-sheep, and othor
fish

39 Insects, etc., born in plants

40 Animals know where their
strength lies

41 The Mouse. The
mouse’

42 The Tunny

43 The common Crab

44 Troglodytes and Snakes

45 The Octopus and fruit-trees

46 The migration of Fishes

47 The Sea-urchin

48 Sexual stimulants for ani-
mals

‘ Sea-

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SUMMARY

49 The largest of the Ceta-

ceans

50 The Sea-calf. The Whale.
The Seal

51 The Red Mullet

52 Flying Fish

53 Fish moving in formation

54 Various treatments for
domestic animals

55 How to silence Dogs and
Donkeys

56 The Elephant

57 Fish in winter

58 Longevity of the Elephant

59 Sea-fish spawn in fresh
water

60 The Pipe-fish

61 The Asp, its bite

62 Death of a Snake-charmer

63 Fishes and their mating

64 Fresh water in the sea

65 Initiates abstain from cer-
tain fish

68 Mating of Viper and Moray

Book X

An Elephant’s jealousy

Mating season for Fishes

Anatomy of the Camel

The Sheep of Arabia

The ‘ Areion ’ snail

The Spanish Mackerel

Cooking a Red Mullet

The Dolphin and its young

The Viper

10 Taming an Elephant

11 Vocal Fishes

12 The flesh of the Elephant

13 Fauna of Arabia. The
Pearl

14 The Hawk

15 The Scarab

16 The Pig in Egypt

17 The Elephant’s love of
home

ὦ οὐ «ἰ δὺ Op Ob μῷ

6

18
19

20
21

22
23
24

25
26

27

The Ram

The ‘ Phagrus’
‘Maeotes’

A Red Sea Shellfish

and the

The Crocodile, worshipped
at Ombos, killed at
Apollinopolis

The Vulture

The Scorpions of Coptos

The Crocodile, killed at
Tentyra, worshipped at
Coptos

The Dog-faces

The Wolf, beloved of
Apollo; reveals sacrilege

The Cow and Aphro-
dite

The Ass and the Antelope,

hated in E t
The Ibis cea
The Baboon
The ‘ Thermuthis’ asp
The Linnet
The Turtle-dove
The Swallow as omen
The Partridge
The Swan
The Owl, an evil omen

Octopus and Crayfish.
Black fishes

The ‘ Ampelus ’ leopard

The Horned Ass of Scythia

Eupolis and his Dog

The ‘Laertes’ ant and
wasp

Fish in the Nile mud

The Cicada : various kinds

The Dog honoured in
Egypt
The ‘ Oxyrhynchus’ fish

The Ichneumon

The story of Pindus and a
Serpent

Clarus free from noxious
creatures

The worship of Aphrodite
at Eryx

ctateet ee arena tral

MOLE LOO EA Ὡς 2. 2

SUMMARY

Boox XI

1 Swans and the worship of
Apollo
2 Serpents sacred to Apollo
in Epirus
3 Dogs sacred to Hephaestus
at Kitna
4 The worship of Demeter at
Hermione
5 Dogs sacred to Athena in
Daunia
6 A refuge for hunted ani-
mals in Arcadia
7 A refuge for hunted deer in
Cyprus
8 Flies avoid the festival of
Apollo
9 Hunting on Ichara
10 Apis, the sacred bull of the
Egyptians
11 Mneuis, the sacred bull of
the Egyptians, and King
Bocchoris
12 The Dolphin
13 The Hounds of Daphnis
14 The Elephant as nurse
15 An Elephant
adultery
16 The Serpent of Lavinium
17 A sacred Serpent and the
penalty of inquisitiveness

-18 Safeguards and remedies

for animals

punishes |

19 Animals give warning of
impending disaster.
Earthquake at Helice

20 Sacred Hounds in the
temple of Adranus

21 A Red Sea Snail

22 The Dolphin in perpetual
motion

23 The Harper fish

24 The Leopard fish.

‘ Oxyrhynchus ’ fish

25 Ptolemy IT and his Ele-
phant

26 The Male superior to the
Female

27 Small causes of great wars

28 Victor and vanquished

29 The Sheep of Pontiis and
Naxos

30 The Bee-eater

31 Serapis restores a Horse’s
eye

32 A sacred Asp and its slayer

33 A sacred Peacock

34 A victim of poisoning
saved by Serapis

35 Cures wrought by Serapis

36 The Horse

37 Various genera of the ani-
mal world

38 The Egyptian Goose

39 The Hawk

40 Freaks of Nature

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HEP] ΖΏΩΝ IAIOTHTOS

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1. Δέονται μὲν ἄνθρωποι λόγου τοῦ προτρέψον-
τος καὶ ἀναπείσοντος ἀγαθοὺς εἶναι καὶ τὴν μὲν
i i A \ 3 4 7
δειλίαν διώξοντος, τὸ δὲ εὐθαρσὲς παρασκευά-
σοντος, ἀθληταὶ μὲν ἐς τὰ

ἐς τὰ ὅπλα' τὰ δὲ ζῷα οὐ δεῖται τῆς ἔξωθεν

> 7 ξ “A 4 4 Ἁ 3 / \
ἐπιρρώσεως, ἑαυτοῖς δὲ παροξύνει τὴν ἀλκήν, καὶ

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EQUTA ἀνίστησι καὶ ἐγείρει. 6 γοῦν σῦς μέλλων
ἐς μάχην ἰέναι πρὸς ταῖς λείαις πέτραις τοὺς
/ - ΄
ὀδόντας ὑποθήγει. τοῦτό τοι καὶ Ὅμηρος τῷ
~ “- “4
ζῴῳ μαρτυρῶν δῆλός ἐστι. καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὁ
ἐων τῇ ἁλκαίᾳ ἑαυτὸν ἐπεγείρει μαστίζων, καὶ
βλακεύειν καὶ ἐλινύειν οὐκ ἐπιτρέπει.1 καὶ τοῦτο
i ς Ἀ 2 \ 4 " “- ᾽ὔ ¢€ A
δὲ 6 ποιητὴς εἰδὼς ἄδει περὶ τοῦ λέοντος. of δὲ
ἐλέφαντες τῇ προβοσκίδι ἑαυτοὺς παίουσιν ἐς τὸν
3 ~ > :
ἀγῶνα ἐξάπτοντες, ὅταν τούτου ἢ καιρός, καὶ οὐ
δέονται τοῦ προσάσοντος καὶ ἐροῦντος οὐχ ἕδρας
ν᾽ > * > ΄-ι Oh 4 X 7 ὔ
ἔργον οὐδ᾽ ἀμβολᾶς, οὐδὲ μὴν τὰ Τυρταίου μέτρα
ἀναμένουσι. ταῦρος δὲ ἡγεμὼν τῆς ἀγέλης ὅταν;

ς “- ς ? 7 ¢ \ > , > |
ἡττηθῇ ἡγεμόνος ἄλλου, ἑαυτὸν ἀἁποκρίνει ἐς
“΄-ς .Ψ

χῶρον ἐτέρον, καὶ ἑαυτῷ γίνεται γυμναστής, καὶ

ἀθλεῖ πᾶσαν ἄθλησιν κονιόμενος καὶ τοῖς δένδροις
4 “~

τὰ κέρατα προσανατρίβων 2 καὶ Τῇ τε ἄλλῃ

1 3 ,
ἐπιτρέπων.
10

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στάδια, στρατιῶται δὲ.

LE

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AELIAN

ON THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF ANIMALS

BOOK VI

1. Men have need of the spoken word to stimulate
and persuade them to be good, to banish cowardice,
to gather courage: athletes, with a view to running ;

soldiers, with a view to fighting. Animals however Animal
Ἷ {τ
need no extraneous encouragement but stimulate Cs

their prowess for themselves and rouse and incite
themselves. For instance, the Boar when intending
to do battle, whets his tusks on smooth rocks.
Homer, you know, gives clear evidence touching the
animal [1]. 18. 471]. Further, the Lion rouses him-
self by lashing himself with his tail and allows no
idling and no repose. And this the poet knew when
he spoke of the Lion [J/. 20. 170]. And Elephants
inflame themselves for the fight, whenever the occa-
sion arises, by beating themselves with their trunk :
they need no one to sing to them and say ‘ This is no
time for sitting still or for delaying’ [Bacc. fr. 11
Jebb], still less do they wait for the poems of Tyr-
taeus.

other place and becomes his own trainer and prac-
tises every method of fighting, scattering the dust
over himself and rubbing his horns against tree-

“~ ~ fa
2 Reiske: προσανατρίβων καὶ θηλειῶν βοῶν ἀπεχόμενος.
11

And when a Bull that is the leader of a herd ‘rhe Butt
is defeated by another leader, he departs to some ™ deat

AELIAN

e 4 > κ sf os 1A “a ε 7 A
cauTov ἐς τὴν ἄσκησιν τῆς ἀλκῆς ῥυθμίζων καὶ
οὖν καὶ ἀφροδίτης ἀπεχόμενος καὶ σωφρονῶν ὡς
Ἴκκος 6 Ταραντῖνος, ὅνπερ οὖν ὑμνεῖ ἸΙΪλάτων 6
᾿Αρίστωνος 1 παρὰ τὸν τῆς ἀθλήσεως χρόνον
πάντα 3 συνουσίας ἀμαθῆ καὶ ἄπειρον διαμεῖναι
ἁπάσης. Kat Ἴκκῳ μὲν ὄντι ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ
3 , 7 “ 7 \ , mong
Ολυμπίων ἐρῶντι καὶ Πυθίων καὶ κλέους αἰσθα-
νομένῳ καὶ δόξης γλιχομένῳ οὐδὲν μέγα ἣν
κεκολασμένως καθεύδειν καὶ σωφρόνως: τὰ γὰρ
> / e 4 1, Ὁ 1 390 7 é ?

ἀθλά οἱ κλεινὰ καὶ ἦν καὶ ἐδόκει, κότινος Ολυμπι-

κὸς καὶ ᾿Ισθμικὴ πίτυς καὶ δάφνη Πυθική, καὶ -

ζῶντα μὲν περιβλέπεσθαι, ἀποθανόντα 3 δὲ εὐφη-
μεῖσθαι. καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν κιθαρῳδὸν ᾿Αμοιβέα
ἀκούω γῆμαι μὲν ὡραιοτάτην γυναῖκα, ἀποσχέ-
σθαι δὲ αὐτῆς παρὰ πάντα τὸν χρόνον, παρ᾽ ὃν
ἀγωνιούμενος ἐς τὰ θέατρα ἤει. Διογένης δὲ ὁ
τῆς τραγῳδίας ὑποκριτὴς τὴν ἀκόλαστον κοίτην
ἀπείπατο παντελῶς πᾶσαν. Κλειτόμαχος δὲ ὃ
παγκρατιαστὴς καὶ κύνας εἴ ποτε εἶδε μιγνυμέ-
νους, ἀπεστρέφετο, καὶ ἐν. συμποσίῳ δὲ εἰ λόγον
ἀκόλαστον ἤκουσε καὶ ἀφροδίσιον, ἐξαναστὰς
ἀπηλλάττετο. ἀνθρώπους δὲ ὄντας ποιεῖν ταῦτα
ἢ ὑπὲρ τοῦ κερδᾶναι χρήματα ἢ ὑπὲρ τοῦ φήμης
καὶ κλέους μεταλαχεῖν, οὐ πάνυ τι ἃ θαυμαστόν"
ταύρῳ δὲ νικῶντι ταῦρον ἀντίπαλον ποῖα μὲν

7 εν ~ 3 ,ὔ 3
κηρύγματα, ὦ mat “Aptorwvos, ἀποκηρύττουσι,δ.

ποῖα δὲ ἄθλα ἀποκρίνουσιν;

2. Τὰ ἄλογα καὶ τῶν συνήθων σφίσι γενομένων
ἀπέχεσθαι φιλεῖ καὶ φείδεσθαι πολλάκις. ἀκούω
γοῦν τὸν λόγον ἐκεῖνον. πάρδαλιν ἐκ νηπίου

1 IT. ὃ τοῦ ᾽Α. Jac, Η. 2 Ges: πάντη.

12

ἐν

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Ἢ GIES Ot ai oa a ast etapa Γ᾽

ON ANIMALS, VI. 1-2

trunks and fitting himself in other ways to display his
strength, and particularly abstaining from sexual acts
and living continently like Iccus of Tarentum, whom
Plato the son of Ariston celebrates [Legg. 8. 839 Ε] as
refraining from all sexual commerce during the entire

eriod of the Games. Now to Iccus, who was a man
and who loved the Olympic and Pythian games and who
understood what glory was and who longed for fame,
it was no great matter to restrain himself and to spend
the nights continently. For to him the prizes meant
glory—the wild olive of Olympia, the Isthmian pine,
and the Pythian laurel, admiration in his lifetime, and
after death an honoured name. Again, the harper
Amoebeus, I am told, married a woman of surpassing
beauty but had no intercourse with her when he was
going to the theatre in order to compete there. And
Diogenes the actor in tragedies eschewed absolutely
all licentious unions. And Clitomachus the pancra-
tiast, if ever he saw dogs coupling, would turn away ;
and if at a wine party he heard some licentious and.
bawdy story, would get up and leave. There is
nothing surprising that being men they should be-
have so, either in order to make money or to achieve
renown andfame. But, O son of Ariston, when a bull
overcomes his adversary, what proclamation ἜΠΠΟΠΙΣ
ces his victory, and what prizes do men award him:

9. Brute beasts are in the habit of not molesting
their companions and of frequently sparing them.

For instance, I have heard the following story. A

hunter had a Leopard which he had tamed from its

4
3 Schn: καὶ ἀποθανόντα.

5 Retske: ὕὑπο-.

ov πάντη.

τὸ

The
continence
of athletes

A tame
Leopard

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AELIAN

ἢ - e , /
θηρατὴς ἀνὴρ ἡμερώσας εἶχεν, οἷα δήπου φίλην
5) ~ > ~
ἢ ἐρωμένην ἀγαπῶν Kat περιέπων ἰσχυρῶς.

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οὐκοῦν ἔριφον αὐτῇ φέρων ζῶντα ἐδίδου, τροφὴν
ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ ἡδονήν τινα ἐπινοήσας τῷ θηρίῳ ἐν

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τῷ διασπᾶν τὸν ἔριφον, ἀλλὰ μὴ δοκεῖν ἐσθίειν
κενέβρειόν τε καὶ θνησείδιον. καὶ δὴ κομισθέντος
«τοῦ» ἐρίφου ἡ δὲ ἐγκρατῶς ἔσχε, δεομένη
ἀπόσιτος εἶναι διὰ πλησμονήν. ἔδρασε δὲ καὶ τῇ
δευτέρᾳ τοῦτο" ἐδεῖτο γὰρ ἔτι ὡς φαρμάκου τοῦ
λιμοῦ. τῆς δὲ τρίτης ἐπιστάσης ἡμέρας ἐπείνη

\ ᾿ 4 ? ὃ ἢ κι a θέ ;
μεν Kat συν ὡς ETTEQELKVUTO TOUTO TH φ CYUATE, -

> s ~ > 6? 7 ? e ~ ¢€ “~
ον μην ΤΟΥΣ ἐρίφου γενομένου δύο YILEPOOV CUTTY)

/ ” 7ὔ 3 4 3 “ \ δ
φίλου ἔτι προσήψατο, ἀλλὰ ἐκεῖνον μὲν εἴασεν,

ἄλλον δὲ ἔλαβεν. ἄνθρωποι δὲ καὶ ἀδελφοὺς
προύδοσαν καὶ τοὺς γειναμένους καὶ φίλους
ἀρχαίους, καὶ πολλοὶ πολλάκις. |

3. Ἢ ἄρκτος ὅτι τίκτει σάρκα ἄσημον εἶτα τῇ
γλώττῃ SvapOpot αὐτὴν καὶ οἷονεὶ διαπλάττει,
ἄνω που λέλεκται. ὃ δὲ οὐκ εἶπον ἤδη, τοῦτο
εἰρήσεται νῦν, καὶ μάλα ἐν καλῷ. χειμῶνος μὲν
ἀποτίκτει, καὶ φωλεύει τεκοῦσα, καὶ ὑφορωμένη

τοὺς κρυμοὺς τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ ἦρος προσμένει,

οὐδ᾽ ἂν πρὶν ἢ πληρωθῆναι τρεῖς μῆνας eEaydyou |

ποτὲ τὰ βρέφη. ὅταν δὲ αἴσθηται ἑαυτῆς πεπλησ-.
7 ¢

μένης, ὑφορωμένη τοῦτο ws νόσον, ζητεῖ φωλεόν.
ἔνθεν τοι Kat? κέκληται τῇ ἄρκτῳ φωλεία τὸ
{0 εν > # > ὃ 7 > , ¢ ,ὔ

πάθος. εἶτα ἐσέρχεται οὐ Badilovaa, ἀλλὰ ὑπτία,
3 ~ “

agavilovoa τοῖς Onparais τὰ ἴχνη: ἑαυτὴν γὰρ
> ~*~ ~
ἐπισύρει κατὰ τὰ νῶτα. Kal παρεσελθοῦσα ἡσυ-

1 “τοῦ» add. H.

3 ~
2 ἐντεῦθέν τοι.

14

ON ANIMALS, VI. 2-3

earliest days and which he loved and tended assidu-
ously as though it were his friend or darling. Now
he brought a kid and gave it to the Leopard alive,
thinking to provide it at once with food and with the
leasure of tearing the kid to pieces, and supposing
that it would refuse to eat dead meat. In fact when
the kid was brought the Leopard controlled itself:
being full-fed it needed to abstain from food. And
jt did the same on the second day, for it still needed
the medicine of starvation. But when the third day
came it began to grow hungry and, as usual, showed
that it was by the sound of its voice; for all that, it
still would not touch the kid which had been its
friend for two days, but left it alone, though it
accepted another one.
Men however have betrayed even their brothers
and their parents and old friends; there have been
many and frequent cases.

8. I have described in some earlier passage ? how The Bear

the Bear produces some shapeless flesh and then licks
it into shape and, so to say, moulds it. But what I
have not already mentioned I will mention now, and
this is a suitable occasion.
time, and having done so, hibernates; and as it
dreads the frosts it awaits the coming of spring, and
would never bring its cubs out until three full months
have passed. But when it perceives that it is preg-
nant it dreads this as though it were some sickness,
and seeks for alair. (Hence the Beayr’s hibernation is
called its ‘lair period.’) Then it enters, not on its
feet but lying down, thus effacing its tracks for those
who hunt it, for it drags itself along onits back. And

@ See 2. 19,
15

It gives birth in the winter Ὁ

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AELIAN

, \ 4 4 4 Ὁ e ~ \ ~
χάζει, Kal τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἕξιν ῥινᾷ, καὶ δρᾷ
τετταράκοντα ἡμερῶν αὐτό. καὶ λέγει μὲν ᾿Αρισ-
τοτέλης ὅτι ἄρα δὶς ἑπτὰ ἡμερῶν ἀκίνητος μένει

\ 3 “A “~ 4 a 7 7
καὶ ἀτρεμεῖ, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων στρέφεται μόνον.

ἄσιτος δὲ ἄρα διαμένει τῶν τετταράκοντα πασῶν
καὶ ἄτροφος, ἀπόχρη δὲ αὐτῇ τὴν δεξιὰν περι-
λιχμᾶσθαι. ἐκ δὲ τῆς συντήξεως τῆς ἄγαν
συνέπτυκται τὸ ἔντερον αὐτῇ καὶ συνῆλθεν. ὅπερ
εἰδυῖα, ὅταν προέλθῃ, τοῦ καλουμένου ἄρου τοῦ
ἀγρίου ἐσθίει: τὸ δὲ ἄρα φυσῶδες ὃν διίστησιν
αὐτῇ τὸ ἔντερον, καὶ εὐρύνει αὐτό, καὶ ἀποφαίνει
τροφῆς δεκτικόν. ὅταν δὲ αὖ πάλιν ἣ πεπλη-
ρωμένη, μυρμήκων ἐσθίει, καὶ κενοῦται ῥᾷστα.
κενώσεις μὲν δὴ φυσικαὶ τῶν ἄρκτων καὶ πληρώ-
σεις ἐς δέον 1 εἴρηνταί μοι μήτε ἰατρῶν μήτε
συγκραμάτων," ὦ ἄνθρωποι, δεόμεναι. ΝΣ

4. Οἱ δράκοντες ὅταν ὀπώρας μέλλωσι γεύεσθαι,
τῆς πικρίδος καλουμένης ῥοφοῦσι τὸν ὀὁπόν"
ὀνίνησι δὲ ἄρα αὐτοὺς αὕτη πρὸς τὸ μὴ φύσης.

τινὸς ὑποπίμπλασθαι. μέλλοντες δέ τινα ἐλλοχᾶν.

ἢ ἄνθρωπον ἢ θῆρα, τὰς θανατηφόρους ῥίζας
ἐσθίουσι καὶ τὰς πόας μέντοι τὰς τοιαύτας. οὐκ
ἦν δὲ ἄρα οὐδὲ Ὅμηρος αὐτῶν τῆς τροφῆς
ἀμαθής. λέγει γοῦν ὅπως ἄνδρα ὃ μένει περὶ τὸν
φωλεὸν εἰλούμενος, προεμπλησθεὶς σιτίων πολλῶν
φαρμακωδῶν καὶ κακῶν.

5. Οἱ ἔλαφοι τὰ κέρατα ἀποβαλόντες ἐσδύονται:
παρελθόντες ἐς τὰς λόχμας, τοὺς ἐπιόντας σφίσι

1

τό

εἰς δέον ἐς τοσοῦτον Ὁ 2 Weigel: συγγραμμάτων.

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 3-5

having entered, it rests, and in some way reduces its
figure; and this it does for forty days. Aristotle
however says [£74 600 b 2] that the Bear remains
motionless and does not stir for fourteen days, and
for the remainder she just turns. So she passes the
entire forty days without food or nourishment: it is
enough for her to lick her right paw. And owing to
excessive colliquescence her intestines become wrink-
ledup andcompressed. Knowing this, as soon as she
emerges she eats some of the plant called ‘ wild
arum ᾽;5 and as this induces flatulence, it opens up
her gut, widens it, and renders it capable of admitting
food. And when she has filled herself out once more,
she eats some ants and obtains an easy evacuation.
J have now sufficiently described how Bears empty
and fill their bodies by natural means without any
need, my fellow men, of doctors or of concoctions.

4, When Snakes intend to eat fruit they swallow της Snake,
the juice of the herb called picris.® It helps to pre- vee
vent them from ‘being filled with wind. And when
they intend to lie in wait for a human being or an
animal, they eat poisonous roots and herbs too of the
same description. So it seems that Homer too was
aware of what they ate. For instance, he tells [1].

93. 995] how a Snake waits for a man, lying coiled up
near its lurking-place, after it has taken its fill of
much poisonous, deadly provender.

5. When Deer have cast their antlers they go and The Stag

ἃ and its
hide in coverts and so protect themselves against at~ antlers
@ Cuckoo-pint. ὃ See 1.35 2.
3 Valck: ἀνὰ. 4 Cobet: éodvv- Mss H.

17.

sigapaiates arto re teasieeany stirs
DESI TOY ROO RS EAB EERE

bey: iss 155) ti

ΡΝ

προνοῶν μον aaa GSU RUT MUNCH TISAUAMTRNESRSLNUA SGUNRAMLASSUTD NTA TANELESNSRIR IESE ST OEE

pa net Vag th tn Popeye a ly a tg aa PDA ARSE Ng PS oo τον fn ANN

AELIAN

φυλαττόμενοι, καὶ εἰκότως"
ἀμυντηρίων ὄντες ἀφῃρῆσθαι καὶ τὴν ἀλκὴν
πεπιστεύκασιν ἐν τῷ τέως. λέγονται δὲ καὶ
φυλάττεσθαι μή ποτε ἄρα νεαροῖς οὖσιν αὐτῶν τοῖς
στελέχεσιν | εἶτα προσπίπτουσα ἡ ἀκτὶς πρὶν 7
παγῆναι καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους χόνδρους λαβεῖν ἡ
δὲ τὴν σάρκα ὑποσήψῃ.

ἔρημοι γὰρ τῶν

6. Ot παριόντες ἐς πόλεμον ἵπποι ὑπόπτους 3
ἔχουσι καὶ τάῤρων πηδήσεις καὶ ἄλλεσθαι βόθρον
καὶ διαβῆναι σταυροὺς καὶ σκόλοπας καὶ τὰ
τοιαῦτα. πάρεστι δὲ καὶ ‘Ounpou, λέγοντος ἀκού-

€ 4 “~ 4
ew ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων

ὥς “Ἕκτωρ ἀν᾽ ὅμιλον ἰὼν ἐλλίσσεθ᾽ ὃ ἐταίρους,
τάφρον ἐποτρύνων διαβήμεναι. οὐδέ οἱ ἵπποι
Δ > , ὃ an ὃ \ ? C > 3 ῳΑ κῃ»
τόλμων ὠκύποδες, μάλα δὲ χρεμέτιζον ἐπ’ ἄκρῳ
χείλει ἐφεσταότες: ἀπὸ γὰρ δειδίσσετο τάφρος
εὐρεῖ᾽, οὔτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὑπερθορέειν σχεδὸν οὔτε περῆσαι

ῥηιδίη.

7. Ἔν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ περὶ τὴν λίμνην τὴν καλου-
μένην Μοίριδος," ὅπου Kpoxoditwy πόλις, κορώνης
τάφος δείκνυται, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐκείνην Αἰγύπτιοί
φασι. τῷ βασιλεῖ τῷ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων (Μάρης δὲ
οὗτος ἐκαλεῖτο) ἦν κορώνης θρέμμα πάνυ ἥμερον,
καὶ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ἃς ἐβούλετό οἱ κομισθῆναί ποι
θᾶττον ἐκόμιζεν αὕτη, καὶ ἦν ἀγγέλων ὠκίστη,
καὶ ἀκούσασα ἦδει ἔνθα ἰθῦναι χρὴ τὸ πτερόν, καὶ
τίνα χρὴ παραδραμεῖν χῶρον, καὶ ὅπου ἥκουσαν
2 Gill: ὑπόπτως.

4 μύριδος.

l Retske: ἕλκεσιν.
3. oy 3
εἱλίσσεθ᾽.

τὸ

egress it utr nr erumenuna eters IT YN a

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ΣΡ saeco cece tn es na ssc peo snaseod

ON ANIMALS, VI. 5-7

tackers; and rightly so, for as they are without
means of self-defence they are convinced that they
have for the time being lost their strength. It is said
also that, while the stumps are still fresh and before
they have hardened and the young horns, called
chondrot, have begun to form, they take care that
the sun’s rays shall not fall upon them and cause the
flesh to putrefy.

6. When Horses march to battle they become sus- the Horse
icious at having to jump trenches, at having to leap ™ battle

over pits and to pass through stakes and palisades and
the like. And one finds Homer saying about such

"matters [1]. 12. 49]

‘Thus Hector passing through the throng im-
plored his comrades, urging them to cross the
trench. But even his swift horses dared not, but
neighed loudly as they stood upon the sheer brink,
for the yawning trench dismayed them, not easy to
leap from close up, nor to cross.’

7. In Egypt near the lake Moeris as it is called, the crow of

where is Crocodilopolis, the tomb of a Crow is
pointed out. The Egyptians give the following
reason. The King of Egypt (Mares? was his name)
possessed a remarkable Crow which was quite tame.
Any despatches that he wished to have delivered any-
where this Crow would speedily carry ; and it was the
swiftest of messengers: having heard its destination,
it knew where it must direct its flight to, which spot
it must pass, and where it must pause on arrival. In

4 Mares (or Marres) is the Greek form of ‘ Moeris’, the

nickname given to King Amenemhet IIIT; see Hdt. 2. 101 with
How-—Wells’s note.

19

ESL δ RLERIS PEEL CRI MALELE DSO ας ΣΕ) EDN!

AELIAN

3 4 > > e 3 ἴω ¢ 7 ᾿
ἀναπαύσασθαι. ἀνθ ὧν ἀποθανοῦσαν 6 Μάρης
ἐτίμησεν αὐτὴν καὶ στήλῃ καὶ τάφῳ.

8. Ἴδιον δὲ καὶ ὄνομα τῆς κατὰ τροφὴν κομιδῆς
ἕκαστα τῶν ζῴων κέκτηται. πωλοδαμνικὴ γοῦν
κληθείη τις ἂν καὶ σκυλακοτροφικὴ καὶ ἐλεφαντο-
κομία καὶ λεοντοτροφία καὶ ὀρνιθοτροφία καὶ τὰ
τοιαῦτα. ᾿

9. Σοφὰ 1 δὲ ἄρκτου ἦν ἄρα ἐκεῖνα. ἐὰν διώκη-
TOL μετὰ τῶν αὑτῆς σκυλακίων, προωθεῖ αὐτὰ ἐς
ὅσον δύναται: ὅταν δὲ συνίδῃ ὅτι ἀπεῖπε, τὸ μὲν
κατὰ τοῦ νώτου φέρει, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τοῦ στόματος,

4 ‘4 f 3 ΄- ἃ A \
καὶ δένδρου λαβομένη ἀναπηδᾷ καὶ τὸ μὲν

“a “ , “ ~
ἔχεται τοῦ νώτου τοῖς ὄνυξι, τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς ὀδοῦσι
φέρεται ἀναθεούσης αὐτῆς. ταύρῳ δὲ λιμώτ-
τουσα ὅταν ἐντύχῃ, κατὰ μὲν τὸ καρτερὸν καὶ ἐξ
εὐθείας οὐ μάχεται, προσπαλαίει δέ, καὶ τοῦ

i“ a Xr 7) At \ id , 2 δ
τέμοντος λαβομένη κλίνει, καὶ ἅμμα σφίγγει. ὁ
δὲ πιέζεται καὶ μέμυκε, καὶ τελευτῶν ἀπεῖπε καὶ

“ > / > 4 ,
κεῖται, καὶ ἐκείνη ἐμπίπλαται.

10. Μαθεῖν δὲ ἀγαθὰ ζῷα καὶ ταύτῃ κατέγνω-
μεν. ἐπὶ τῶν Τἰτολεμαίων οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τοὺς
κυνοκεφάλους καὶ γράμματα ἐδίδασκον καὶ ὀρχεῖ-
σθαι καὶ αὐλεῖν καὶ ψαλτικὴν. καὶ μισθὸν κυνοκέ-
φαλος ἐπράττετο ὑπὲρ τούτων, καὶ τὸ διδόμενον
ἐς φασκώλιον ἐμβαλὼν ἐξηρτημένον ἔφερεν, ὡς οἱ
τῶν ἀγειρόντων δεινοί. ὅτι δὲ Συβαρῖται καὶ
ὄρχησιν ἵππους ἐπαίδευσαν, πάλαι κεκήρυκται.

, fa
1 σοφία. 2 ἅμα ἐσθίει.

SFA EER ETT ΣΟ RISING AAT NY ete eee ent reo REO eare στο πτ τσ τπτσσστστστστοσπουοτοτσενο
δον ον δου ας του ον σσ ον τυ δ δ ον αὐτο ὐσανκον ον οσύοι νυν ales Sep UR MU NON MM UTD

γεν 705 7 ἘΤΎΜΩΣ ΨΥ ΛΔ ΩΤ ΣΡ ΣΕ ΩΝΣ ΣΌΣ Ὁ

ἘΝ
3
᾿

ON ANIMALS, VI. 7-10

reward for these services Mares honoured it when
dead with a monument and a tomb. 7

8, Every animal has a special word to denote the Thecare

care spent on its upbringing. For example, one
might speak of the ‘breaking in’ of horses, the
‘rearing’ of hounds, the ‘grooming’ of elephants,
the ‘rearing ’ of lions, the ‘ rearing’ of birds, and
so forth.

9, Now here the Bear shows its clever tricks. If it
is pursued together with its cubs it pushes them along
in front as far as itis able. But when it realises that
they are exhausted, it carries one on its back and
another in its mouth, then laying hold of a tree, climbs
up. And one cub clings to its back with its claws,
while the other is carried in the teeth of the Bear as
it mounts. If when famished it comes across a bull,
it does not engage in a straightforward battle of
strength, but wrestles with it and seizing its neck
brings it down and tightens its clench. And while
the bull is being crushed it bellows, until at last
it gives up and lies dead; and the Bear takes-its
fill.

10 (i). Here is further evidence to show that ani-
mals are apt at learning. Under the Ptolemies the
Egyptians taught baboons their letters, how to dance,
how to play the flute and the harp. And a baboon
would demand money for these accomplishments, and
would put what was given him into a bag which he
carried attached to his person, just like professional
beggars. It has long been noised abroad that the
people of Sybaris have even taught horses how to

21

of animals

The Bear
and its cubs

Docility of
certain
animals

AELIAN

ἐλεφάντων δὲ τὸ εὐπειθὲς ἐς τὰ μαθήματα Kal τὸ

cr > ὔὕ > ΄ oe \ . 4»
ῥάδιον QAVWTEPQ) εὐπον. KUVES δὲ apa Καὶ TA OLKOL ~

ὑπηρετεῖν τοῖς ἐκπαιδεύσασιν αὐτοὺς ἱκανοί, ‘Kal
ἀπόχρη πένητι δοῦλον κύνα ἔχειν. ἦσαν δὲ ἄρα
καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἄδουλοι, ὥσπερ οὖν ᾿Αράβων
μὲν οἱ Τρωγλοδύται, Λιβύων δὲ of Νομάδες, καὶ
τῶν Αἰθιόπων ὅσον 1 λιμνόβιόν ἐστι, πέρα τῆς ἐκ
τῶν ἰχθύων τροφῆς μεμαθηκὸς σιτεῖσθαι οὐδὲ ἕν.

Μέμνηται δὲ ὧν πάσχει τὰ ζῷα, καὶ δεῦταί γε
τέχνης τῆς ἐς τὴν μνήμην οὐ Σιμωνίδου, οὐχ
Ἱππίου, οὐ Θεοδέκτου, οὐκ ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ἐς
τόδε τὸ ἐπάγγελμα καὶ τήνδε τὴν σοφίαν κεκηρυγ-
μένων. ἔνθα γοῦν ἀφῃρέθη ἡ βοῦς τὸν μόσχον,
ἐνταῦθα ἐλθοῦσα ὠδύρατο μυκηθμῷ συντρόφῳ τὸ
πάθος. καὶ βόες μέντοι ὑπὸ ζυγὸν ἰέναι μέλλοντες
οὗ μὲν μειδιῶσιν, οἵ δὲ ἐπὶ πόδα ἀναχωροῦσιν.
ἵππος δὲ ὅταν ἀκούσῃ ψαλίων κρότον καὶ χαλινοῦ
κτύπον, καί προστερνίδιά τε καὶ προμετωπίδια
θεάσηται, φριμάττεται ἐνταῦθα, καὶ τὰς ὁπλὰς
σκιρτῶν ἐπικροτεῖ καὶ ἐνθουσιᾷ, ἦ τε τῶν ἕπποβο-
σκῶν βοὴ ἐγείρει αὐτόν, καὶ τὰ ὦτα ὥρθωσεν
αὐτὸς καὶ τοὺς μυκτῆρας διέστησε μνήμῃ δρόμου
καὶ συνηθείας ἴυγγι ἀμάχῳ.

11. Τίκτει δὲ ἔλαφος παρὰ τὰς ὁδούς, καὶ
” ? 7 “σ᾿ San) / 4 ‘ f
ἐοικέ γε σοφίᾳ τοῦτο δρᾶν: δέδοικε yap τὰ θηρία

A ‘ 3 3 ΄- > - 4 \ 3 7
καὶ τὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπιβουλάς, τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους
θαρρεῖ. καὶ ἐκείνων μὲν πεπίστευκεν ἀσθενεστέρα

> 7 \ 2? land f P] > ?
οὖσα, τούτους δὲ ἀποδρᾶναν δύνασθαι οὐκ ἀμφιβαλ-
λει. καταπιανθεῖσα δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἔτι τέκοι παρὰ τὰς

1 Κ 4
οσὸν TO.

22

OST

ΣΎ ΡΤ

:
i
ἱ

ON ANIMALS, VI. 10-11

dance. Of the ease with which elephants can be
induced to learn I have spoken above.? Now dogs
are capable of managing household affairs for those
who have trained them, and for a poor man it is
enough to have a dog as slave. There are after all
people who are without slaves even of this kind,
among the Arabs for instance the Troglodytes, among
the Libyans the Nomads, and among the Ethiopians
all the lake-dwellers, people who have never learnt
to eat anything other than fish.

(ii). Animals retain the memory of their experi-
ences and have no need of those mnemonic systems
devised by Simonides, by Hippias, and by Theodectes,
or by any other of those who have been extolled for
their profession and their skill in this matter. For
instance, a cow goes to the spot where her calf was
taken from her and mourns for it, lowing as is her
wont. Some oxen too when about to be yoked ex-
press their pleasure, others draw back. Anda horse
on hearing the clash of curb-chain and the clang of
bit, and seeing chest-plates and frontlets, begins’ to
snort and makes his hoofs ring as he prances, and is
in an ecstasy. And the shouting of the stablemen
stimulates him and he pricks up his ears and dilates
his nostrils as he remembers his galloping and yearns
irresistibly for his wonted exercise.

11. The Deer produces its young by the roadside
and appears to do so from a wise precaution, because
it dreads wild beasts and their designs, but has no
fear of human beings: it knows full well that it is
weaker than the former, but has no doubt that it can
escape from the latter. But when it has grown fat it

* See 16, 23. ’ See 2.11.

23

ESSER EASa sa ἣν
μανόν ἀρ πράτ: ουιακηνεδε τιοαρεϑαρμαμις δα

ΑΝ ΣΉΝ

AEN ERD AUER BIT SILL NLR IETS

AELIAN-

¢ / Ἁ ¢ ~ 3 7
ὁδούς: οἷδε γὰρ ὅτι δραμεῖν ἐστι νωθεστέρα.
> “᾿ 3 - “
τίκτει οὖν ἐν τοῖς ἄγκεσι καὶ ἐν τοῖς δρυμοῖς καὶ
ἐν τοῖς αὐλῶσι.

12. Ἣ χερσαία χελώνη διατραγοῦσα ὀριγάνου
παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ποιεῖται τὸν ἔχιν. ἐὰν δὲ ἀπορήσῃ
αὐτοῦ, πηγάνου ἐμφαγοῦσα ὥπλισται πρὸς τὸν
ἐχθρόν. ἐὰν δὲ ἐκατέρου ἀτυχήσῃ, ἀνήρηται.

13. Ὃ ἔλαφος, ὡς ἀκούω, τὰ παρόντα ἀγαπᾷ,
mn 3 “
καὶ οὖκ ἐρᾷ πλειόνων, ἀλλὰ σωφρονεῖ περὶ τὴν
γαστέρα τῶν ἀνθρώπων μᾶλλον. περὶ γοῦν τὸν
€ / ? > 4 \ ? Ἁ “~
EAjonovrev ἐστι λόφος, καὶ νέμονται κατὰ τοῦδε
ἔλαφοι, καὶ τῶν ὥτων αὐτοῖς τὸ ἕτερον διέσχισται,
περαιτέρω δὲ οὐ χωροῦσι τοῦ λόφου, οὐδὲ νομῆς
ἐρῶσι ξένης, οὐδὲ λειμῶνας ποθοῦσιν ἑτέρους
3
πόας χρείᾳ περιττοτέρας: ἀπόχρη δὲ ἄρα τὰ
παρόντα αὐτοῖς δι᾿ ἔτους ὅλου. τί πρὸς ταῦτα, ὦ
a \ 7
ἄνθρωποι, ὑμεῖς, ovs οὐκ ἂν ἐμπλήσειέ ποτε ἕως
θανάτου ᾿
9Q9 ὦ 7 OA > 7 3 A 37
οὐδ᾽ ὅσα λάινος οὐδὸς ἀφήτορος ἐντὸς ἐέργει;

14, Ἢ ὕαινα, ὡς ᾿Αριστοτέλης λέγει, ἐν τῇ
ἀριστερᾷ χειρὶ ἔχει δύναμιν ὑπνοποιόν, καὶ
ἐνεργάζεται κάρον μόνον προσθιγοῦσα. πάρεισι
γοῦν ἐς τὰ αὔλια πολλάκις, καὶ ὅταν ἐντύχῃ τινὶ
καθεύδοντι, προσελθοῦσα ἡσυχῆ 5. τὴν ὑπνοποιὸν
ὡς ἂν εἴποις χεῖρα προσέθηκε τῇ ῥινί, ὁ δὲ ἄγχε-

i 3 Α / 4 4 > / 4 Ly 7
Tai” τε καὶ πιέζεται. καὶ ἐκείνη μὲν ὑπορύττει
1 rob. * Jac: ἡσυχάζει καί mss, del. Η.
3 ἕλκεται. 4 πιέζεται καὶ ἀναισθήτῳ μᾶλλον ἔοικε.
24

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 11-14

would no longer give birth by the roadside, for it
knows that it is too sluggish to run, and so it brings
forth its young in glens, in thickets, and in ravines.

12. The Land Tortoise after eating some mar] oram ΠΥ τς and
treats a viper with contempt. But ifit lacks marjoram
it arms itself against its enemy by consuming some
rue. If however it fails to find either, it is killed.

. The Deer (so I am told) is content with what The Deer,
is ΤΡ ΘΑ it and ee no aes wants, but is more 18 ἩΡΙΒΆΠΙΣ
frugal than man in its appetite. For instance, in
the neighbourhood of the Hellespont there is a hill
pastured by Deer, which have one of their ears cleft,
and they do not stray beyond this hill, do not want
strange food, desire no other meadows from any need
οὔ ἃ larger amount of grass; so what is at hand is .
enough for them the whole year round. What have
you, O men, to say to this, you whom |

‘not even all the wealth contained within the -

Archer’s 5 threshold of stone ’ [Hom. Jl. 9. 404]
would satisfy until the day of death?

14, The Hyena, according to Aristotle,’ has in its The Hyena,
left paw the power of sending to sleep and can with powers
a mere touch induce torpor. For instance, it often
visits stables, and when it finds any creature asleep
it creeps softly up and puts what you might call its
sleep-inducing paw upon the creature's nose, and it
is suffocated and overpowered. Meantime the

Hyena scoops out the earth beneath the head to such

¢ Apollo.
> Not in any extant work; fr. 321 (Rose, p. 347).

25

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ATED LL DESKS SATIN IRENE LIS LLL EBS EON ONT 3

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OLB AE A ITE BAAN ATES E ADAP A OFLA
συ ὁ νονεασεοσιοσϑήλλον,

AELIAN |

τὴν γῆν τὴν ὑπὸ τῇ κεφαλῇ és τοσοῦτον, ἐς
ὅσον ἀνέκλασεν ἐς τὸν βόθρον καὶ τὴν φάρυγγα
ὑπτίαν ἀπέφηνε καὶ γυμνήν" ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἡ ὕαινα
ἐνέφυ καὶ ἀπέπνιξε καὶ ἐς τὸν φωλεὸν ἀπάγει.
τοῖς 1 κυσὶ δὲ ἐπιτίθεται ἡ αὐτὴ τὸν τρόπον
ἐκεῖνον. ὅταν ἢ πλήρης ὁ τῆς σελήνης κύκλος,
κατόπιν λαμβάνει τὴν αὐγήν, καὶ τὴν αὑτῆς
σκιὰν ἐπιβάλλει τοῖς κυσί, καὶ παραχρῆμα αὐτοὺς
κατεσίγασε, καὶ καταγοητεύσασα ws αἱ φαρμακί-
δες εἶτα ἀπάγει σιωπῶντας, καὶ κέχρηται ὅ τι καὶ
βούλεται τὸ ἐντεῦθεν αὐτοῖς.

15. "Epwra δελφῖνος ἐν ᾿Ιασῷ ἐς μειράκιον
καλὸν πάλαι ἀδόμενον ἄμοιρον μνήμης τῆς ἐξ
ἐμοῦ ἀπολιπεῖν οὔ μοι δοκεῖ, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα
εἰρήσεται. 2 70 γυμνάσιον. τὸ τῶν ᾿Ιασέων ἐπίκει-
ται τῇ θα ἁττῃ, καὶ οἵ γε ἔφηβοι μετὰ τοὺς
δρόμους καὶ τὰς κονίστρας κατιόντες ἐνταῦθα
ἀπολοῦνται ὃ κατά τι ἔθος ἀρχαῖον. διανηχομένων
οὖν αὐτῶν ἑνὸς τοῦ τὴν ὥραν ἐκπρεπεστάτου 5
ἐρᾷ δελφὶς ἐ ἔρωτα δριμύτατον. καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα
πλησίον γενόμενος ἐφόβησέ τε καὶ ἐξέπληξεν
αὐτόν, εἶτα μέντοι τῇ συνηθείᾳ φιλίαν τινὰ καὶ
εὔνοιαν ἐς ἑαυτὸν ἐκ ° τοῦ παιδὸς ἰσχυρὰν ἐπηγά-
γετο. ἀθύρειν γοῦν per ἀλλήλων ὑπήρξαντο, καὶ
πῇ μὲν ἡμιλλάσθην παρανηχομένω τε καὶ ἐρίζοντε,
πῇ δὲ ὁ παῖς ἀναβαίνων ὡς πῶλον ἱππότης,
ὑπονηχομένου τοῦ ἐραστοῦ γαῦρος ἐφέρετο. καὶ
ἦν τοῖς ᾿Ιασεῦσι καὶ τοῖς ξένοις τὸ πραττόμενον

ἀξιόζηλον. προήει μὲν γὰρ τὰ παιδικὰ ὃ δελφὶς

1 ‘ “ 2 > ὦ ον
καὶ τοῖς. εἰρήσεται 6 ἔρως.
8 ἀπολούονται. 4 ἐκπρεποῦς.

26

SSE NN AI NS ST TET DSO TIT

be
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Bs
4
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ΣΟ ENTE ET TS OS BU

ΜΗ

UE TIES SEEDED LEG

ON ANIMALS, VI. 14-15

depth as makes the head bend back into the hole,

‘Jeaving the throat uppermost and exposed. There-

upon it fastens on to the animal, throttles it, and
carries it off to its lair. And it attacks dogs in the
following manner. When the moon’s disc is s full, the
Hyena gets the rays behind it and casts its own
aoe upon the dogs and at once reduces them to
silence, and having bewitched them, as sorceresses do,
it then carries them off tongue-tied and thereafter
puts them to such use as it pleases.

15. The story of a Dolphin’s love for a beautiful
boy at Iassus Ὁ has long been celebrated, and 1 am
determined not to leave it unrecorded; it shall
accordingly be told.

The gymnasium at Iassus is situated close to the
sea, and after their running and their wrestling the

ouths in accordance with an ancient custom go
down there and wash themselves. Now while they
were swimming about, a Dolphin fell passionately in
love with a boy of remarkable beauty. At first when
it approached, it frightened the boy and completely
scared him; later on however, through constant
meeting, it even led the boy to conceive a warm
friendship and kindly feelings towards it. For in-
stance, they began to sport with one another: ; and
sometimes they would compete, swimming side by
side in rivalry, sometimes the boy would mount, like
a rider on a horse, and be carried proudly along on
the back of his lover. And to the people of Iassus
and to strangers the event seemed marvellous. For

α Town on SW coast of Caria.

27

Dolphin and
boy at Iassus

AELIAN

? 35. Ἀ “ ζω 7 1 3 id --
φέρων. ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῆς θαλάττης καὶ ἐς ὅσον τῷ

δὲ “ 3 7 αλ ~ 1 > δ ,
παιδὶ εἶχεν ὀχουμένῳ καλῶς" εἶτα ὑπέστρεφεν
A “" ~ > o~ ’ ἃ 3 7
καὶ hye τοῦ αἰγιαλοῦ πλησίον, καὶ ἀλλήλων
, € \ > \ 7 ς 4 3. A
διαλυόμενοι 6 μὲν ἐς TO πέλαγος, 6 δὲ ἐς τὰ
3 “~ 3 7 ? / 4 ¢ Ἀ 3 4
οἰκεῖα ἐπανήεσαν. ἀπήντα δὲ 6 δελφὶς ἐς τὸν
4 fa ~ , > ? -
καιρὸν τῆς τῶν γυμνασίων ἀφέσεως, ὃ τε παῖς
Gg ΄“ 7 “" ~ i “-
ἥδετο τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῇ τοῦ φίλου καὶ τῇ σὺν
Fos ”~ nw 7 “ ~
αὐτῷ παιδιᾷ, Kal πρὸς τῷ κάλλει τῷ φυσικῷ
περίβλεπτος ἦν, οἷα δήπου μὴ μόνον τοῖς ἀνθρώ-
“ > ~
ποις, ἀλλὰ Kat τοῖς ἀλόγοις δοκῶν wpatdraros.
: 1 ἃ
οὐ μέντοι μετὰ μακρὸν καὶ οὗτος ὁ ἀντέρως 3
ἡττήθη τοῦ φθόνου. ἔτυχε γοῦν ὁ παῖς πλείω
γυμνασάμενος, καὶ καμὼν ἑαυτὸν τῷ ὀχοῦντι κατὰ
4 7 > f ,ὔ 2 : ¢ “-ς
τὴν γαστέρα ἐπιβάλλει, Kat πως ἔτυχεν ἡ τοῦ
~ 5 a
ζῴου ἄκανθα ἡ Kara τοῦ νώτου ὀρθὴ οὖσα, Kal
΄- ς ? \ > φ λ 4 - ΦὋὝἯοΉώ +f φλ β
τῷ ὡραΐῳ τὸν ὀμφαλὸν κεντεῖ. εἶτά τινες φλέβες
7 \ [ἡ 2 €¢ vx
ὑπορρήγνυνται, καὶ αἵματος ἔπειτα por πολλή,
“-. 3 / εν
καὶ ὃ παῖς ἐνταῦθα ἀποθνήσκει. ὅπερ οὖν ὁ
\ ? 3 ~ f 3 ’,
δελφὶς συναισθόμενος ἐκ τοῦ βάρους (ἐπέκευτο
7 ~ 4 Ἀ raw
yap οὐ συνήθως κοῦφος, ἅτε μὴ τῷ πνεύματι
e 4 3 / A 7) “-. >
ἑαυτὸν ἐλαφρίζων) Kat θεασάμενος πορφυροῦν ἐκ
τοῦ αἵματος τὸ πέλαγος, τὸ πραχθὲν συνῆκεν καὶ
ἐπιβιῶναι τοῖς παιδικοῖς οὐκ ἐτόλμησε. πολλῇ
τοίνυν τῇ ῥύμῃ ὃ χρησάμενος, ὥσπερ οὖν ῥόθιον 4
7 > ¢ h} ? ‘ ? aA 4 ¢ 4 5
σκάφος, εἶτα ἑαυτὸν ἐς τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς ἑκὼν
>
ἐξέβρασε, Kal τὸν νεκρὸν συνεξήνεγκε, καὶ ἔκειντο
+ ¢ \ 7 c \ ~ f
ἄμφω ὁ μὲν τεθνεώς, ὃ δὲ ψυχορραγῶν. Adios
1 Schn: καλῶς εἰς τοσοῦτον. 2 ἀντερῶν.
8 Jac: ῥώμῃ. 4 Ῥοδίων. Κ᾽ ἕλκων.

28

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δ

ON ANIMALS, VI, τς

the Dolphin would go a long way out to sea with its
darling on its back and as far as it pleased its rider;
then it would turn and bring. him close to the beach,
and they would part company and return, the Dol-
phin to the open sea, the boy to his home. And the
Dolphin used to appear at the hour when the gym-
nasium was dismissed, and the boy was delighted to
find his friend expecting him and to play together.
And besides his natural beauty, this too made him
the admired of all, namely that not only men but
even dumb animals thought him a boy of surpassing
loveliness.

In a little while however even this mutual affection
was destroyed by Envy.* Thus, it happened that
the boy exercised himself too vigorously, and in an
exhausted state threw himself belly downwards on to
his mount, and as the spike on the Dolphin’s dorsal
fin chanced to be erect it pierced the beautiful boy’s
navel. Whereupon certain veins were severed;
there followed a gush of blood; and presently the
boy died. The Dolphin perceiving this from the
weight—for the boy lay heavier than usual, as he
could not lighten himself by breathing—and seeing
the surface of the water crimson with blood, realised
what had happened and could not bear to survive its
darling. And so with all the gathered force of a ship
dashing through the waves it made its way to the
beach and deliberately cast itself upon the shore,
bringing the dead body withit. And there they both
lay, the boy already dead, the Dolphin breathing its
last. (But Laius,? my good Euripides, did not act

@ 7,6. divine envy; cp. Soph. Ph. 776.
> Laius, King of Thebes, loved Chrysippus, the son of
Pelops. See Nauck TGF p. 632.

29

AELIAN

Seek / 4 re E 3 , a ’
ἐ ἐπὶ Χρυσίππῳ, ὦ καλὲ Ἐϊὐριπίδη, τοῦτο οὐκ
Li “-- -
ἔδρασε, καΐτοι τοῦ τῶν ἀρρένων ἔρωτος, ὡς λέγεις
αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ φήμη διδάσκει, “Ελλήνων πρώτιστος
ἄρξας. ἀμειβόμενοι δὲ 1 ᾿Ιασεῖς τὴν φιλίαν ἐκεί-
νων τὴν ἰσχυράν, ἀπέφηναν τάφον κοινὸν ὡραίου
μειρακίου καὶ δελφῖνος ἐρωτικοῦ, καὶ στήλην
ἐπέστησαν. καλὸς παῖς ἱππεύων ἐπὶ SeAdivos ἦν.
καὶ νόμισμα δὲ ἀργύρου καὶ χαλκοῦ εἰργάσαντο,
καὶ ἐνέθλασαν σημεῖον τὸ ἀμφοῖν πάθος, καὶ
μνήμῃ παρέδοσαν ἔργον {τοῦ τοσούτου θεοῦ
τιμῶντες οἱ ἐκεῖθιϑ πυνθάνομαι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ
> 7 ὔ Α 4 “a ν
ἀΑλεξάνδρου πόλει κατὰ τὸν []τολεμαῖον τὸν
δεύτερον ἐρασθῆναι SeAdiva ἔρωτα παραπλήσιον

\ 3 7 ~ 3 / sf my 3
καὶ ev Atxatapyia τῆς ᾿Ιταλίας. ἅπερ οὖν εἰ
‘Hod5 ” PX 5 τ 5»... a 3 Ρ -

ρόδοτος ἔγνω, οὐκ ἂν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν ἐθαύμασε τῶν
ex ᾿Αρίονι ὁ τῷ Μηθυμναίῳ ἧττον αὐτά.

Ὁ Μηθυμναίῳ ἣ

16. Λιμοῦ μέλλοντος ἐπιδημεῖν αἰσθητικῶς ἔχου-
σι κύνες καὶ βόες καὶ ὗς καὶ αἶγες καὶ ὄφεις καὶ
ἴων Ψ 4 ~ \ 3 ? /
ζῷα ἄλλα, Kat λοιμοῦ δὲ ἀφιξομένου συνίησι
πρώτιστα καὶ σεισμοῦ. προγινώσκει δὲ καὶ ὑγί-
ειαν > ἀέρων καὶ εὐφορίαν καρπῶν. καὶ λόγου
μὲν οὐ μετείληχε τοῦ καὶ σώζειν καὶ ἀποκτείνειν
. ? o~

δυναμένου, τῶν γε μὴν προειρημένων οὐ διαμαρ-
,ὕ᾿΄.

τάνει.

11. Ἔν τῇ τῶν καλουμένων ᾿Ιουδαίων γῇ ἢ
᾿Ιδουμαίων ἦδον ot ἐπιχώριοι καθ᾽ “Ἡρώδην τὸν
βασιλέα ἐρασθῆναι μείρακος ὡρικῆς δράκοντα
2 rod) add. H.

4 "Αρίωνι.

1 δὲ καί.
8. κεῖθι.
5 Schn: ὑγείαν.

30

ae
Ἵ
a
ΕῚ
|
:
:
2
᾿

LET PENCE

ΠΟ

ON ANIMALS, VI. 15-17

goin the case of Chrysippus, although, as you yourself

and the common report tell me, he was the first among
the Greeks to inaugurate the love of boys.) And
the people of Iassus to requite the ardent friendship
between the pair built one common tomb for the
peautiful youth and the amorous Dolphin, with a
monument at the head. It was a handsome boy
yiding upon a Dolphin. And the inhabitants struck
coins of silver and of bronze and stamped them with a
device showing the fate of the pair, and they com-
memorated them by way of homage to the operation
of the god * who was so powerful.

And I learn that at Alexandria also, in the reign of
Ptolemy 11,2} ἃ Dolphin was similarly enamoured; at
Puteoli also, in Italy. So, had these facts been
known to Herodotus, I think they would have sur-
prised him no less than what happened to Arion of
Methymna.° ,

16. Dogs, oxen, swine, goats, snakes, and other Prophetic
animals have a presentiment of an impending famine ; benef

they are the first too to know when a pestilence or an
earthquake is approaching. They can foretell fair
weather and the fertility of the crops. Though de-
void of reason, which can be a man’s salvation or his
destruction, they are not mistaken at any rate in the
matters mentioned above.

17. In the country of those known as Judaeans or Serpent in

Edomites the natives of the time of Herod the King εἰ
used to tell of a Serpent of enormous size being

α The God of Love.
ὃ Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, 308-246 z.c.
¢ See Hdt. 1. 23-4.

21

AELIAN

ἢ εὰ ἴων
μεγέθει μέγιστον, ὅσπερ οὖν ἐπιφοιτῶν εἶτα μέντοι
“ , / ad
τῇ προειρημένῃ συνεκάθευδε σφόδρα ἐρωτικῶς
τὰ 5 :
οὐκοῦν ἡ μείραξ τὸν ἐραστὴν οὐκ ἐθάρρει, καίτοι
5. κ᾿ ?
προσέρποντα ὡς ἐνῆν πραότατά TE καὶ ἡμερώτατα
ὑπεξῆλθεν οὖν, καὶ διέτριψε μῆνα, οἷα δήπου
~ 4
λήθην τοῦ δράκοντος e€ovros κατὰ τὴν τῆς
/ ~
ἐρωμένης ἀποδημίαν. τῷ δὲ dpa ἡ ἐρημία ἐπέ.
τεινε τὸ πάθος, καὶ ἐφοίτα μὲν ὁσημέραι καὶ
a. 3 \ > 7 e 2» /
νύκτωρ: οὐ μὴν ἐντυγχάνων ἣ ἠβούλετο, ὡς
ἐραστὴς ἀτυχῶν ἐν τῷ πόθῳ καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἤλγει.
3 s A ¢ + € 7 > ξ
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ ἄνθρωπος ὑπέστρεψεν αὖθις, ὃ δὲ
ἀφικνεῖται, καὶ περιβαλὼν τῷ λοιπῷ σώματι, τῇ
2A \ 7 a > , ἣ
οὐρᾷ τὰς κνήμας τῆς ἐρωμένης πεφεισμένως
2) € , A f “~ 37
ἔπαιεν, ὑπεροφθείς τε καὶ μηνίων δῆθεν. οὔκουν 1
6 καὶ τοῦ Διὸς ἄρχων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν θεῶν τῶν
AA LAN! o~ 3 λ / ¢ on > > ὦ ”
ἄλλων οὐδὲ τῶν ἀλόγων ὑπερορᾷ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως ἔχει
: \ > A ῖ ὃ Ἁ 7 A ὃ > ἄλλ > ?
᾿ πρὸς αὐτὰ Kat διὰ τούτων καὶ OL wy ἀποδεί-
κνυται.

€ 7 -
18. Οἱ ὄφεις ἑαυτοῖς συνεγνωκότες τὸν στό-
Ἀ
μαχον λεπτὸν καὶ μακρὸν ἔχουσιν, ὅμως ὄντες
> ΄, \ , ς > ,
ἀδηφάγοι Kat παμβορώτατοι, ws ᾿Αριστοτέλης
λέγει, ἀνίστανται ὀρθοὶ καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρας τῆς οὐρᾶς 3
¢ ~ 4 \ a)
ἑστᾶσι, Kat ἡ τροφὴ κατολισθάνει αὐτοῖς, Kal ἐς
A 3) - -“
τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ σώματος ἀποχωρεῖ: ἄποδες δὲ
» Φ C4 y ov 3) \ 4 3 i
ὄντες εἶτα ἕρπουσιν ὦκιστα. ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἀκοντίων
/
δίκην ἑαυτόν τις μεθίησι καὶ ἐπιφέρεται, καὶ τὸ
vv > Od lan
γε ὄνομα ἐξ οὗ δρᾷ ἔχει: κέκληται γὰρ ἀκοντίας.
32

tl UN cee NAS ae aan AMT naan RSS arbre apa re an TSTRITIRSST NNO τα τ

ON ANIMALS, VI. 17-18

ἃ of a lovely girl: he used to visit her and

enamoure
later even slept with her like an ardent lover. Now
the girl was terrified of her lover, although he slid up

to her as softly and gently as he could. So she
escaped from him and remained away for a month,
supposing that the Serpent in consequence of his
darling’s absence would forget her. But loneliness
augmented his misery, and every day and night he
used to haunt the place. Since however he did not
fnd the object of his desire, he too felt all the pains
of 2 disappointed lover. But when the girl came back
once more, hé arrived and, encircling her with the rest
of his body, with his tail gently lashed her legs, pre-
sumably in anger at finding himself despised. So
he@ that is above even Zeus himself and the other

ods does not overlook even brute beasts, but by
these and by other acts manifests his relations

towards them.

18. Snakes, conscious that they have a narrow, The Snake,

elongated gullet, despite the fact that they are ie
reedy and exceedingly voracious, as Aristotle says

[HA ὅ94 18], rise upright and stand upon the tip

of their tail, so that food slides down into them and

passes into the bulk of their body. And having no

feet they crawl at a great speed. Indeed one snake

launches itself and flies with the speed of a javelin;

and its name is derived from its action, for it is called

Acontias (the Javelin-snake).

@ The God of Love.

eh TET A EL A re

1: οὐκοῦν. 2 Schn: τὰς οὐράς.

33
VOL. 11. σ

. AELIAN

19. Τῶν ἐν @dats τε καὶ μούσαις ὀρνίθων
οὐδεὶς διαλέληθεν, ἀλλ’ ἴσμεν χελιδόνας καὶ
7 4 4 “ 1 7 5A Ἀ
κοσσύφους καὶ τὸ τῶν»! τεττίγων φῦλον, καὶ
f / \ ~ ? i i /
κίτταν λάλον καὶ βομβοῦσαν ἀκρίδα Kat πάρνοπα
ὑποκρίζοντα καὶ μὴ σιωπῶσαν τρωξαλλίδα, adKvo-
? 4 7 \ / ων 1 + 1 :
vas τε ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ψιττακούς: τῶν δὲ ἐνύδρων
3 X > ~ / \ 2 A A \
ὀλολυγὼν οὐ σιωπᾷ. φθέγγεται δὲ αὐτῶν τὰ μὲν
γοερὰ καὶ θηλύφωνα, τὰ δὲ ὄρθια καὶ διάτορα'

\ ‘ ‘ > A ~ 7 24 ‘ AN
καὶ Th μὲν ATO Τῶν κλάδων εἶ TOUS κλάδους

/ # a δ > 2
μεταθέοντα aoe, ὥσπερ οὖν οἴκους ἐξ οἰκων

3 f 2 4 s 3 - ~ ;
aueiPovra,® τὰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς λειμῶσι κατάδει,

e \ 7 \ f ξ vn 3}
οἱονεὶ πανηγυρίζοντα, καὶ βίον ὡς ἂν εἴποις
> ἢ ἽΝ £Q 04 t \ 3 3
ἀνθηρὸν καὶ ἁβρὸν διαυτώμενα τὴν ἦρος ἐπιδη-

’ ? ” > ἊἋἊ / 3 ζω /
μίαν μελῳδίαις ἔγωγ᾽ av φαίην εὐφημεῖ. κύκνων
ὃ \ f \ ᾧ ~ / / > > 7
ἑ πέρι καὶ ὅτου θεῶν. θεράποντές εἰσιν ἀνωτέρω
> ¢ , 3 > A a. δ ΤΈΣ ee
εἶπον. ἡ κίττα δ᾽ οὖν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων φωνημάτων

/ / 3 “᾿ \ > “~ 7
μιμηλότατόν ἐστι, τοῦ δὲ ἀνθρωπικοῦ πλέον.
" 7 4 “ 7 ζω ᾽ὔ Ὁ 8
ἰδιάζει δὲ ταῖς μιμήσεσι τῶν τοιούτων ὁ τε ἄνθος

é
καλούμενος 8 καὶ ἡ σάλπιγξ καὶ ἡ ἴυγξ καὶ 6 κόραξ.
καὶ ὃ μὲν ἄνθος ὑποκρίνεται χρεμέτισμα ἵππου,

‘ 7 4 ε δ 7 \ 4 ,. ¢
τὴν σάλπιγγα δὲ ἡ ὁμώνυμος, καὶ τὸν πλάγιον ἡ
ἴυγξ αὐλόν: βούλεται δὲ τῶν ὄμβρων μιμεῖσθαι
τὰς σταγόνας ὁ κόραξ.

1 «τῶν» add. H.

2 οἴκους .. . ἀμείβοντα] ἐπὶ τοὺς οἴκους ἐκ τῶν προτέρων
, Ἀ Α A ΄-
οἴκων ἀμείβοντες διὰ τὴν τρυφὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ βίου θρύψιν.

34

GE OTB FERIA EEN ULE A OSE TET ND COLE OSIEIES NG LEO G8 DME RES So

rangi δὲ

ΠΥ ΤΎΡΟΥ VIAN DEMULB ὉΠ 0 Ὸ GEES EV LEE EMTS DE TESS LONE:

SYS

USS SUEBGRE

ee ROE

IO,

REL

RAISES DASE EEE

ON ANIMALS, VI. 19

19. Not one of the birds that sing and make melody
has escaped observation, but we know that swallows,
blackbirds, and the tribe of cicadas sing, that the jay
is talkative, that the cricket buzzes,* the locust makes
a light strumming, the grasshopper is not silent, and
moreover that haleyons and parrots are vocal, while
among aquatic creatures the croak of the male frog
is not silent. And of these some utter a plaintive
feminine note, others a note shrill and piercing; and
some sing as they hurry from branch to branch, as
though they were changing house, while others carol
in the meadows as though they were holding festival,
and while leading an existence that is, as it were, all
flowers and delicacy, hail (so I would say) with their
music the coming of spring. Touching swans and
the god whose ministers they are I have spoken
above.o Now the jay can imitate all other sounds
but especially the human voice. And the buff-

The song of
Birds

ability to
imitate other
sounds

backed heron, as it is called, and the salpinx (trum- —

pet) 5 and the wryneck and the raven are peculiarly
fitted to imitate the following sounds. The buff-
backed heron represents the neighing of a horse;
the salpinx, the instrument whose name it bears; and
the wryneck, the cross-flute ; while the raven tries to
imitate the sound of raindrops.

α >Axpis elsewhere in Ael. is a.locust; it can hardly bear this
meaning here. I have ventured to render it ‘ cricket,’ signify-
ing the ‘ field-cricket,’ Acheta or Gryllus campestris.

> See 2. 32; 5. 34. |

¢ Thompson does not cite this passage in his Glossary, s.v.
σάλπιγξ, which cannot here = ὀρχίλος; a wren. Gossen’
(§ 192) suggests the Roller, Coracias garrulus.

3 ὁ καλ-.
35

AELIAN

7, \ ξ 2 3 Α ,

20. Σκορπίων μὲν 6 ἄρρην ἐστὶ χαλεπώτατος,
6 δὲ θῆλυς δοκεῖ πραότερος. ἀκούω δὲ αὐτῶν

t ¢ 1 \ 5 4 > dn i;
γένη ἕνδεκα 1: λευκὸν εἶναι καὶ αὖ πάλιν πυρρόν
τινα, (καὶ) 3 καπνώδη 5 ἄλλον {καὶ μέλανα ἐπὶ
τούτοις" πέπυσμαι δὲ καὶ χλωρὸν καὶ γαστρώδη
τινά καὶ καρκινώδη * ἄλλον: τόν γε μὴν χαλεπώ-
τατον φλογώδη ἄδουσι.δ παρείληφα δὲ ἄρα φήμῃ
καὶ πτερωτοὺς καὶ δικέντρους τινάς" καί που
ε A} v 7 »? ᾽ \
ἑπτὰ ἔχων σφονδύλους ὠφθη τις. σκορπίος δὲ

3 24 3 AS “-- > / ‘ \ 30 7 a
οὐκ wa ἀλλὰ ζῷα ἀποτίκτει. χρὴ δὲ εἰδέναι ὅτι

, ἢ; > 5 a aioe, ς ,
καί φασί τινες οὐκ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὁμιλίας

[4 \ > 4 ΄“ ᾽ mn > 3 θ
γίνεσθαι τὴν ἐπιγονὴν τοῖς ζῴοις τοῖσδε, ἀλλ᾽. . .
ἐς τὰ καύματα ἄγαν τίκτειν σκορπίους. ἐγχρίσας

΄- al 3

δὲ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τὸ κέντρον ὁποῖα ἐργάζεται καὶ
ἀναιρεῖ τίνα τρόπον ἀλλαχόθεν εἴσεσθε.

3 > ~ ‘

21. Ἔν ᾿Ινδοῖς, ws ἀκούω, ἐλέφας καὶ δράκων
ἐστὶν ἔχθιστα. οὐκοῦν οἱ μὲν ἐλέφαντες ἀποσπῶν-
τες τῶν δένδρων τοὺς κλάδους, ἐκείνους νέμονται.
ὅπερ οὖν εἰδότες ob δράκοντες ἐπ᾿ αὐτὰ μὲν
ἀνέρπουσιν, τὸ δὲ ἥμισυ σφῶν αὐτῶν τὸ οὐραῖον

“᾿ 7 / “-- 7 ν᾿. \ 9 4
τῶν δένδρων περιβάλλουσι TH κόμῃ, TO δὲ ἐς τὴν

A ve ~
κεφαλὴν προϊὸν ἥμισυ μεθῆκαν Kadwdiov δίκην
3 ~ ;
ἀπηρτημένον. καὶ ὁ μὲν προσῆλθεν ἀποδρέψασθαι
τς ἐννέα Mss, del. H (1864), but (1868) γ. ἕνδεκα which
Wellmann also reads.

2 <xai>... Cxai> add. ἢ.

3 καπνοειδῆ. .

4 καρκινοειδῇ . . . φλογοειδῆ.

καλοῦσι.
6. Lacuna.

α Steier (art. Spinnentiere, RE 3 A 1801) identifies four of
them thus: λευκός, the young of most scorpions; πυρρός,

36

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- ἃ EAMES

SEB ER RREB VEILS TAISEN LOSES OUELLETTE VEEL EEE ODOR ENS ME UN AEGIS BGA Eo

IRERELELETLLI FID OE CANIS σόοι NDE SITIES

hr FATE EET T EEL EEE EEE SLEEPS DEAD I AY

RY OG Fa 25. %
GRP te Bak chohasie tte Pine

ON ANIMALS, VI. 20-21

90. The male Scorpion is exceedingly ferocious,
put the female seems to be of a milder temper. And

‘The
Scorpion:
various

1 have heard that there are eleven kinds:*® one is kinds

white, while another is red, another smoke-colour,
there is also a black kind; I have learnt also that
there is one kind that is green, another pot-bellied,
and another that resembles a crab. But it is com-
monly said that the fiercest is the fiery-coloured one.
[ have also learned by report that there are Scorpions
with wings and others with a double sting, and some-
where one has been seen with seven vertebrae. The
Scorpion is not oviparous but viviparous. And it
should be known that some say that the offspring of
these creatures are not produced by mating but...
heat causes Scorpions to be exceedingly prolific.
And how they all inflict their sting, and the effect this
produces, and how they kill, you will learn from
another source.

91. In India, I am told, the Elephant and the
Python (?) are the bitterest enemies. Now Elephants
draw down the branches of trees and feed upon them.
And the Pythons, knowing this, crawl up the trees
and envelop the lower half of their bodies in the
foliage, but the upper portion extending to the head
they allow to hang loose like a rope. And the
Elephant approaches to pluck the twigs, whereat the
Python springs at its eyes and gouges them out.
Buthus oceitanus ; μέλας, Androctonus afer (cp. 15. 26; 17. 40);
yAwpés, if equivalent to the μελέχλωρος of Nic. Th. 797, may be
Androctonus (Buthus) australis. The πτερωτός is perhaps the
harmless insect Panorpa communis. There are no scorpions
‘with two stings’ or ‘with seven vertebrae.’ ΚΚαρκινοειδής is

erhaps the Crab-spider, Thomisius onustus ; see J. H. Fabre,
Life of the Spider, 181. See also Gossen §§ 42-4.

37

Elephant .
and Python

ὌΝ
a
ae

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, VI. 21-23

Next the snake winds round the Elephant’s neck,
and [as it clings to the tree ?]* with the lower part
of its body, it tightens its hold with the upper part
and strangles the Elephant with an unusual and
singular noose.

τῶν ἀκρεμόνων ὁ ἐλέφας, ὁ δὲ δράκων ἐμπηδᾷ

τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ ἐξορύττει, εἶτα τῷ τραχήλῳ

περιερπύσας, Ἱἱτείνων ἢ τῷ οὐραίῳ μέρει καὶ

σφίγγων θατέρῳ ἀπάγχει τὸ θηρίον ἀήθει βρόχῳ
‘

καὶ καινῷ.

ΠΕ ΕΣ ΣΡ Potency Sac ΤΟΣ ὩΣ ΡΣ ΤΣ

22. To the lion fire and a cock are utterly hateful ; Enmities
to the leopard a hyena, to the scorpion a gecko. ὅπῃ tous
Thus, if the aforesaid creature is brought near to a
scorpion, the latter is seized with numbness. And

22. "Ἔχθιστα δὲ τῷ μὲν λέοντι πῦρ καὶ ἀλεκ-

7 4 ὃ 4 ~ ὃ ἐλ f Ὁ ὃ A
τρυών, ὕαινα δὲ τῇ παρδάλει, σκορπίῳ ὲ
ἀσκαλαβώτης "3 νάρκη γοῦν τὸν σκορπίον κατα-

0, BRR ULE AAPA PER EO RG ΕΣ

PRN δὶ ἐροέα

aay

7 ? ξ Fant 7 “-
λαμβάνει προσαχθέντος οἱ τοῦ ζῴου τοῦ προει-

ρημένου. δράκοντα δὲ ἐλέφας ὀρρωδεῖ- ὑποζύγιον᾽

δὲ πᾶν τὴν μυγαλῆν οὐ θαρρεῖ, ἀστακὸς δὲ
πολύποδα. καὶ μέντοι {καὶ προωθούμενοι ἐκ
τῶν τεγῶν οἱ κύνες, οὐκ ἂν αὐτοὺς ῥίψειας" τοῦ
γάρ τοι κινδύνου δεδοίκασι τὸ μέγεθος.

ΕΝ

the elephant shrinks from the python; and every
beast of burden dreads the shrew-mouse; the lob-
ster, the octopus. Furthermore if you were to try
to push dogs off the roof, you would not succeed in
throwing them down: they are afraid of the great
danger involved. :

93. What ingenuity, peculiar to their kind, Nature The

Scorpion in

23. Οἷα δὲ dpa σοφίσματα καὶ τοῖς σκορπίοις ; ᾿
seems to have imparted to Scorpions! The people Libya

ἡ φύσις ἔοικε δοῦναι καὶ τοῖσδε ἴδια. οἱ Λίβυες
τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν ὑφορώμενοι καὶ τὰ ὃ τεχνάσματα
μηχανὰς αὐτοῖς μυρίας ὁ ἀντεπινοοῦσι Ἷ κοῖλα
ὑποδήματα φοροῦντες καὶ ὑψηλοὶ καὶ μετέωροι
καθεύδοντες καὶ τῶν τοίχων ἀναστέλλοντες τὰς
κειρίας 8 καὶ τῶν κλινῶν τοὺς πόδας ἐς ὑδρίας
ὕδατος πεπληρωμένας ἐντιθέντες, καὶ οἴονται τὸ

4 3 > f 4 5» 7 7 -“
λοιπὸν ἐν ἀδείᾳ τε καὶ εἰρήνῃ καθεύδειν πολλῇ.
of δὲ ὁποῖα παλαμῶνται. σκορπίος εἰ λάβοιτο
ε ᾽ 11 bj ? 7 ‘ o~ > 7 9
ὁπόθεν ἑαυτὸν ἐξαρτήσει κατὰ τοῦ ὀρόφου,
ἔχεται τούτου ταῖς χηλαῖς καὶ μάλα ἐγκρατῶς

1 τείνων corrupt.
Ξ f lots, Reisk

σκορπίος MSS, σκορπίοις, Lewske.
8. Reiske: ἀσκαλαβώτῃ.
4 ςκαίΣ add. Η.

7
5 Jac: πάντα τά.

38

GLEE GEESE ELSI ESE TSE LEY DRED ERE LOS OLE SEELEY TIS DEA IEEE LIT TIT His 225823. Ate, hg ee HEE.

EDIE STEN SS OREO YESS GEOL EEE LITT EE

ΡΥ ρει ESL OEE BE ELIS

SRB pihionsiecst

of Libya dreading their numbers and their machina-
tions, devise endless schemes to counter them: they
wear high boots; they sleep in beds raised high
above the ground, setting their bed-cords away
from the walls; they place the feet of their beds in
vessels full of water, and imagine that they wil
thereafter sleep without fear andin peace. But what
tricks do the Scorpions devise! If a Scorpion can
find some spot in the roof to which he can hang,
he clings to it firmly with his claws and lets down

¢ The text is corrupt and the translation is conjectural.

6 Reiske: μηχαναῖς αὐτοὺς μυρίαις.
7 ἀντεπινοοῦσι φυλαττόμενοι.
8 Jac: χεῖρας. ® τὸν ὄροφον.

39

AELIAN

καὶ καθῆκε τὸ κέντρον. οὐκοῦν ὁ δεύτερος
κάτεισιν 1 ἐκ τῆς στέγης, καὶ διὰ τοῦ πρώτου
καθέρπει,Σ καὶ τοῦ κέντρου τοῦ ἐκείνου ἔχεται καὶ
αὐτὸς ταῖς χηλαῖς, καὶ τό γε ἑαυτοῦ ὃ μετέωρον
εἴασε κέντρον: καὶ ὃ τρίτος ἐκεῖθεν ἔχεται, καὶ 6
τέταρτος ἐκ τοῦ τρίτου, καὶ ὃ πέμπτος κατὰ
στοῖχον, καὶ οἱ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνοις διὰ τῶν πρώτων
καθέρποντες. εἶτα ὁ τελευταῖος ἔπαισε τὸν καθεύ-
δοντα καὶ διὰ τῶν ἀνωτέρω ἀνέρπει,. καὶ ὁ μετ᾽
ἐκεῖνον καὶ ὃ κάτωθεν τρίτος καὶ οἱ λουποΐί,
€ore® οἱ πάντες ἀλλήλων ἀπελύθησαν οἷα δήπου
λύσαντες ἅλυσιν.

24. Δολερὸν χρῆμα ἡ ἀλώπηξ. ἐπιβουλεύει
γοῦν τοῖς χερσαίοις ἐχίνοις τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.
ὀρθοὺς αὐτοὺς καταγωνίσασθαι ἀδύνατός ἐστι. τὸ
δὲ αἴτιον, ai ἄκανθαι ἀνείργουσιν αὐτήν. ἡ δὲ
ἡσύχως καὶ πεφεισμένως (ἔχουσα τοῦ ἑαυτῆς
στόματος ἀνατρέπει αὐτοὺς καὶ κλίνει ὑπτίους,
ἀνασχίσασά τε ἐσθίει ῥᾳδίως τοὺς τέως φοβερούς.
τὰς δὲ ὠτίδας ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ θηρεύουσιν οὕτως.
ἀποστραφεῖσαι αὐταὶ καὶ ἐς γῆν κύψασαι τὴν
κέρκον ἀνατείνουσιν ὥσπερ οὖν τράχηλον ὄρνιθος"
αἱ δὲ ἀπατηθεῖσαι προσίασιν ἴ ὡς πρὸς ὄρνιν
ὁμόφυλον, εἶτα πλησίον γενόμεναι τῆς ἀλώπεκος
ἁλίσκονται ῥᾷστα ἐπιστραφείσης 8 καὶ ἐπιθεμένης
κατὰ τὸ καρτερόν. τὰ σμικρὰ δὲ ἰχθύδια θηρῶσι
πάνυ σοφῶς. παρὰ τὴν ὄχθην τὴν τοῦ ποταμοῦ
ἔρχονται καὶ τὴν οὐρὰν καθιᾶσιν ἐς τὸ ὕδωρ: τὰ

Ὶ ta é 2 Leg
κάτεισι μέν. ἕρπει.
3 αὐτοῦ. 4 ἕρπει.

6 <éyovoa> add. Η.

5 #9 »
ΕΟΊ GV.

40

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AB Ὡχρτο κε λει φεξενοθι

ΠΥ EHS SOONY SLIEMA ED LEADED ERIE νυ ροςς τς NLD τι NILE LENSES EY EIEN RN DOES LELAND, 5%

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ae
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ON ANIMALS, VI. 23-24

his sting. Then a second descends from the roof,
crawls down over the first, and with his claws
holds fast to his sting and lets his own dangle in the
air. Then a third holds on to that, and a fourth
on to the third, and a fifth in a line, while those that
follow crawl down over the preceding ones. Then
the last Scorpion strikes the sleeper; crawls up again
over the one above; after him the next; then the
third from the bottom; then the rest, until the
entire lot are disconnected, just as if they had undone
a, chain.

94. The Fox is a crafty creature. For instance, it The Fox
plots against Hedgehogs in the following way. It "πεν
cannot overcome them by a direct attack, the reason
being that their prickles prevent it; and so, gingerly
and taking great care of its mouth, it turns them over
and lays them on their back and after ripping them
open, easily devours those whom till then it dreaded.

And this is the way that Foxes hunt Bustards in and
Pontus. They reverse themselves and put their ears
head down upon the ground and stick their tail up,
like a bird’s neck. And the bustards are taken in
and approach, supposing it to be some bird of their
own kind; then when they come close up, they are
easily caught by the Fox, which turns upon them

and attacks them violently.

Their manner of catching very small fishes is and small
extremely dexterous. They move along the bank of”
a stream and trail their tails in the water. And the

7 Schn: προΐασιν.
8 ἐπιστραφεί ἧς ἀλώ
ραφείσης τῆς ἀλώπεκος.

41

AELIAN —

δὲ , 7 ’ νι 3 \d |
€ προσνέοντα EVLOVETAL TE Καὶ εμπαλᾳσσέτοαι

τῷ δάσει τῷ τῶν τριχῶν. αἱ δὲ αἰσθόμεναι τοῦ
μὲν ὕδατος ἀναχωροῦσιν, ἐλθοῦσαι δὲ ἐς τὰ Enpa
χωρία διασείουσι τὰς οὐράς, καὶ ἐκπίπτει τὰ
ἰχθύδια, καὶ ἐκεῖναι δεῖπνον ἁβρότατον ἔχουσιν.

ON ANIMALS, VI. 24-25

fish swim up and are immeshed and entangled in the
thick hairs. When the Foxes notice this, they with-
draw from the water and go to dry ground where they
shake their tails thoroughly: the little fishes tumble
out, and the Foxes make a delicious meal.

The people of Thrace use this animal as an indica- Fox tests

€ 4 “~ ~ ~ “~ 2 ~. b>)
οἱ δὲ Θρᾷκες τῆς τῶν ποταμῶν πήξεως τῆς οὐ use ὦ poner
tor of whether a frozen river is safe to cross. And if ice

σφαλερᾶς ποιοῦνται γνώμονα τήνδε τὴν θῆρα.

καὶ ἐὰν διαδράμῃ τὸν κρύσταλλον μὴ ἐνδιδόντα.

Ν 2, - > / 7 “--
μηδὲ εἴκοντα τοῖς ἐκείνης βήμασι, θαρροῦσι καὶ
ἕπονται. πεῖραν δὲ αὐτὴ ποιεῖται τοῦ μὴ σφαλε-

~ ~ 7

ροῦ πόρου τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον. παραβάλλει τὸ
ots TH? κρυστάλλῳιΨ κἂν μὲν αἴσθηται μὴ
ὑπηχοῦν κάτωθεν τὸ ῥεῦμα μηδὲ ὑποψοφοῦν
€ ~ 3 2 φ \ e ¢ ~ “~ 4
ἡσυχῆ és βάθος, ἡ δὲ ws ἑστῶτι TH κρυστάλλῳ
θαρρεῖ, διαθεῖ τε ἀτρέπτως 3: εἰ δὲ μή, οὐκ ἂν
ἐπιβαίη.

25. Οἱ ποιηταὶ μὲν τὴν παῖδα τὴν τοῦ “Ididos
σέβουσι, καὶ τά γε θέατρα ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐμπέπλησται
ὑμνούντων τὴν ἡρωίνην ἐκείνην, ἐπεὶ τὰς ἄλλας
ὑπερεπήδησε τῇ σωφροσύνῃ, τὸν ἑαυτῆς γαμέτην
προτιμήσασα τοῦ βίου: τὰ δὲ ζῷα ὑπερβολὴν
φιλοστοργίας οὐ παραλέλοιπεν. ὁ γοῦν ᾿Ηριγόνης
κύων ἐπαπέθανε τῇ δεσποίνῃ, καὶ ὃ Σιλανίωνος
καὶ ἐκεῖνος τῷ * δεσπότῃ, καὶ οὔτε πρὸς βίαν οὔτε
σὺν κολακείᾳ ἀπέστη τοῦ τάφου. Δαρείῳ δὲ τῷ

: i al ~ ~ > “-Ἔ 4
τελευταίῳ βασιλεῖ τῶν Περσῶν ἐν τῇ πρὸς

3 ρα
2 Schn: ἐπὶ τῷ.
4 ἐπὶ τῷ.

1 > λ é
ἐμπλάσσεται.
3 πρώτη.

@ Evadne, see above 1. Id.

42

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&
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Ὦ
Ps
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xy
8

WELLES ELEN TESF ERAGE TENE REET SESE ESSENSE EL EEE LIENS SD ENDESEIELSAGIESN GE DELLE SAS IGS CLD OBESE DIELS ALE OBER HEE Me

SMART Aare

SUSAR a See EE μον BOT ET SLE EUS BEARER

the Fox runs across without the ice bending or giving
way beneath its tread, they make bold to follow. The
Fox tests the safety of the transit in the following
manner : it puts its ear down to the ice, and if it hears
no sound of the flow beneath and no murmur in the
depths, it has no fear, the ice being solid, and it
races over without hesitation. Otherwise it would
not set foot upon it.

25. Poets pay homage to the daughter of Iphis,*
and the theatres are packed when they celebrate this
famous heroine, since she excelled all other women
in her chaste resolve, reckoning her husband more
precious than her own life. | |

But animals have not been wanting in inordinate "
affection. For instance, the hound of Erigone ὃ died καὶ
upon the body of its mistress: also the hound of
Silanio ὁ upon the body of its master, and neither
force nor blandishment could move it from the grave.
And when Darius, the last King of Persia,? was struck

> Daughter of Icarius, hanged herself on finding her father
slain. .

¢ Tzetzes, repeating the story (Chil. 4. 200), adds that he
was a Roman general. More than that 1 have been unable
to discover. a

¢ Darius III, c. 380-330 B.c., defeated at Issus aud Gau-
gamela by Alexander and finally murdered by his own
followers.

43

AELIAN

᾿Αλέξανδρον μάχῃ βληθέντι ὑπὸ Βήσσου Kat
κειμένῳ, πάντων τὸν νεκρὸν ἀπολιπόντων, 6 κύων
ὁ ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ 1 τραφεὶς μόνος παρέμεινε πιστός, τὸν
οὐκέτι τροφέα μὴ προδοὺς ὡς ἔτι ζῶντα. τοιοῦτόν
τι ὑπὲρ τῶν τοῦ Κύρου φίλων τοῦ νεωτέρου
Ξενοφῶν 6 Τρύλλου 5 νεανιευόμενος δῆλός ἐστι
λέγων, τοὺς ὁμοτραπέζους μόνους ot? συμπαρα-
μεῖναι καὶ συναπολέσθαι, καὶ τὸν εὐνοῦχον, ὃς ἦν
οὗ σκηπτοῦχος τὴν τιμήν, ὄνομα δὲ ᾿Αρταπάτης,
ἑαυτὸν ἐπαποκτεῖναι τῷ νεκρῷ, ἀτιμάσαντα 3
τὸν βίον ἐσόμενόν οἱ ἔρημον Κύρου. καὶ Λυ-
σιμάχῳ δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ κύων κοινοῦ τοῦ τέλους
ἑκὼν μετέλαβε σωθῆναι δυνάμενος.

τ
26. Ἣ πιθήκη ὑπό τινων ὀρειβάτης κέκληται,
e 5" Μ΄ 7 ς > f ὅλ ὃ 4 5 \
ὑπ ἄλλων ye μήν, ὡς ἀκούω, trAodpduos,® καὶ
ἐν τοῖς δένδροις γίνεται καὶ ἔχει τρίχας" κέκληται
1 © 3 3 # \ 4 3 ‘4 4 iy 4
δὲ ὑπ᾽ ἐνίων Kat ψύλλα. ἐντέτμηται μὲν οὖν τὴν
“γαστέρα ἡσυχῆ, ὡς εἰπεῖν ὅτι λίνῳ διακέκοπται.
,ὔ
δάκνει δὲ σφαλερώτατα δήγματα, καὶ παρέπεται
τρόμος τῷ δηχθέντι, καὶ περὶ τὴν καρδίαν ἄλγημα
> 4 > fd A εν
ἰσχυρὸν ἐπιγίνεται, καὶ τὰ οὖρα ἐμφράττεται, καὶ
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δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις ἀντίπαλος ὃ καρκίνος 6
ποτάμιος εἶναι βρωθείς.
1 αὐτοῦ. :
2 OT. A, de Stefani: &. 6 τοῦ Τ΄. most uss, Η.
3 of οἴκτῳ MSS, of ὀκτώ Gron, comp. Ken. An. 1.8.27.
Ἢ
δ

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μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ἀτιμάσαντα.
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ON ANIMALS, VI. 25-26

py Bessus in the battle against Alexander and lay
dead, all forsook the corpse, only the dog which had
been reared under his care remained faithfully at his
side, unwilling to abandon, as though he was still
alive, the man who could no longer tend him. Xeno-
phon the son of Gryllus is clearly using the high-
flown language of youth when he relates [An. 1. 8. 27]
a similar tale of the friends of Cyrus the Younger,*
how his table-companions alone stood fast at his
side and were slain along with him, while the eunuch
who held the office of sceptre-bearer and was called
Artapates, slew himself upon the corpse, not caring
to live henceforward without Cyrus. And the
hound of King Lysimachus® of its own free will
shared his death although its life might have been
saved.

26. The Monkey-spider has by some been called tTheMonkey-
‘the mountain-ranger,’ but by others (I am told) spider

‘the wood-runner.’* It is born on trees and is hairy.
It has also by some been called ἡ the flea.’ Its belly
has a slight incision, so that one might say it had
been cut in two by a thread. It inflicts the most
dangerous bites, and they are attended by a trem-
bling on the part of the victim; there ensues a sharp
pain in the region of the heart; the urine is stopped ;
and the other passage also becomes blocked. It
seems that the remedy for these afflictions is to eat
a river-crab. | .

* Cyrus, see 1, 59 note 6. | ΝΕ

ὃ General of Alexander the Great, became King of Thrace,
defeated in battle by Seleucus, 28] B.c. :

¢ May be identical with the wolf-spider of Arist. HA 622
b 30, or more probably the malmignatte.

45.

AELIAN

27. Αἰλούρων ὁ μὲν ἄρρην ἐστὶ λαγνίστατος, ὁ
δὲ θῆλυς φιλότεκνος, φεύγει δὲ τὴν πρὸς τὸν
ἄρρενα ὁμιλίαν: ἀφίησι γὰρ τὸν θορὸν θερμότατόν
τε καὶ προσεοικότα πυρί, Kal κάει τῆς θηλείας τὸ
ἄρθρον. εἰδὼς οὖν ὃ ἄρρην τοῦτο τὰ κοινὰ
βρέφη διαχρῆται, ἡ δὲ παίδων ἑτέρων πόθῳ
ἑαυτὴν παρέχει συνελθεῖν γλιχομένῳ. φασὶ δὲ
τοὺς αἰλούρους πάντα ὅσα δυσώδη ἐστὶ μισεῖν τε
καὶ βδελύττεσθαι. ταύτῃ τοι καὶ τὸ σφέτερον
περίττευμα ἀφιέναι πρότερον βόθρον ὀρύξαντας,
ἵνα ἀφανίσωσιν αὐτὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπιβαλόντες.

28. ᾿Ακολαστότατον τῶν ἰχθύων τὸν πολύποδα
εἶναί φασι καὶ ἐς τοσοῦτον λαγνεύειν, ἐς ὅσον
αὐτῷ ἡ πᾶσα τοῦ σώματος ῥώμη ἐκρυεῖσα
ἀσθενῆ ἀπέφηνε καὶ νήξασθαι μὲν ἥκιστον, τροφὴν
ἐ μαστεῦσαι ἀδύνατον, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἄλλους
τρέφειν. τὰ γοῦν σμικρὰ τῶν ἰχθυδίων καὶ τὰς
καλουμένας καρκινάδας καὶ τοὺς καρκίνους ἐπιφοι-
τἂν τε ἅμα καὶ κατεσθίειν αὐτόν. λέγουσι δὲ
ταύτην εἶναι τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαι πολύποδα
ἐνιαυτοῦ βιῶναι χρόνον μακρότερον. καὶ θῆλυς
δὲ ἄρα πολύπους ἀναλίσκεται ῥᾳδίως τίκτων
πολλάκις. |

29. Φύλαρχος μέμνηται παῖδα ἰσχυρῶς φιλόρ-
vila, ἀετοῦ νεοττὸν λαβεῖν δῶρον καὶ τρέφειν
τροφῇ ποικίλῃ καὶ κηδεμονίαν αὐτῷ προσφέρειν
πᾶσαν' οὐ “γάρ τί που ὡς ἄθυρμα ἐς παιδιὰν
ἔτρεφε τὸν ὄρνιν, ἀλλὰ ἐρωμένου δίκην ἢ ἀδελφοῦ
νεωτέρου, οὕτως ἄρα ὁ παῖς τοῦ ἀετοῦ προμηθῶς
ἔχεν: προϊὼν " δὲ <6>3 χρόνος ἐς φιλίαν αὐτοὺς
4 ;

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 27-29

27. The Tom-cat is extremely lustful, but the The Cat

Female cat is devoted to her kittens and tries to avoid
sexual intercourse with the male, because the semen
which he ejaculates is exceedingly hot and like fire,
and burns the female organ. Now the Tom-cat
knowing this, makes away with their kittens, and the
Female in her yearning for other offspring yields to
his lust. They say that Cats hate and abhor all foul-
smelling objects, and that is why they dig a hole
before they discharge their excrement, so that they
may get it out of sight by throwing earth upon it.

98. They say that the Octopus is the most in-
continent of fish and copulates until all the strength
of its body is drained away, leaving it weak, incapable
of swimming, and unable to seek for food; in conse-

uence of which it provides food for others, thus:

The Octopus

small fishes, and what are known as‘ hermit-crabs,’

and crabs come about it and devour it. And they
say that this is the reason why the Octopus cannot
live for more than a year. And as to the female, it
is soon exhausted by giving birth so frequently.

29. Phylarchus records how a youth who was
deeply devoted to birds was presented with an
eaglet, and how he fed it on a variety of foods and
tended it with all possible care. He reared the bird
not as a plaything to sport with, but as a favourite or
as a younger brother, so full of thought was the
youth for the Eagle. As time passed it lit the flame

“4 oe ἢ
1 καὶ ἡ. 2 καὶ προϊών.

3 (ὃ) add. H.

47

Hagle and

boy

AELIAN |

τὸ σῶμα τὸν παῖδα. Kal τὸν ἀετὸν παραμένειν

καὶ νοσηλεύειν τὸν τροφέα, καὶ καθεύδοντος μὲν
ἡσυχάζειν, ἐγρηγορότος δὲ παρεστάναι, ἀσιτοῦντος
δὲ τροφὴν μὴ προσίεσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τὸν βίον
ὁ παῖς κατέστρεψεν, ἠκολούθησε καὶ ὃ ἀετὸς μέχρι
τοῦ μνήματος: καομένου δὲ ἑαυτὸν ἐς τὴν πυρὰν
ἐνέβαλεν.

30. Ὃ ἰχθὺς ὁ ὄνος τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ὅσα ἐντὸς
προσπέφυκεν οὐ πάνυ τι τῶν ἑτέρων διεστῶτα
κέκτηται, μονότροπος δέ ἐστι καὶ σὺν ἄλλοις
βιοῦν οὐκ ἀνέχεται. ἔχει δὲ ἄρα ἰχθύων μόνος
οὗτος ἐν τῇ γαστρὶ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ
λίθους, οἵπερ οὖν ἐοίκασι μύλαις τὸ σχῆμα.
Σειρίου δὲ ἐπιτολῇ φωλεύει μόνος, τῶν ἄλλων ἐν
ταῖς κρυμωδεστάταις φωλεύειν εἰθισμένων.

31. Οἱ θηρῶντες τοὺς πάγούρους 3 ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς
ἐμηχανήσαντο τὴν μουσικὴν δέλεαρ. φωτιγγίῳ
γοῦν (ὄνομα δὲ ὀργάνου τοῦτο) αἱροῦσιν αὐτούς.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς φωλεοῖς δεδύκασιν, οἱ δὲ
ὑπάρχονται τοῦ μέλους. καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ πάγου-
ροι πείθονται ὡς ὑπό τινος ἴυγγος προελθεῖν τῆς
θαλάμης, εἶτα ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἑλκόμενοι προΐασι
καὶ ἔξω τῆς θαλάττης, οἱ δὲ 8 αὐλοῦντες ἐπὶ πόδα
ἀναχωροῦσι. καὶ ἐκεῖνοι ἕπονται καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
ἁλίσκονται.

92. Οἱ δὲ τῇ Μαρείᾳ λίμνῃ προσοικοῦντες τὰς
θρίσσας θηρῶσι τὰς ἐκεῖθι δῆς μέλει τορωτάτῳ *
1 οὐ πάντη.

48

ἐξῆψεν ἀλλήλων ἰσχυράν. συνηνέχθη δὲ καμεῖν.

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 29-32

of a strong mutual friendship. It happened that the
youth fell sick, and the Eagle stayed at his side and
nursed its keeper: while he slept, the bird remained
quiet; when he woke, it was there; if he took no
food, it refused to eat. And when the youth at last
died, the Eagle also followed him to the tomb, and as
the body burned it threw itself on to the pyre.

80. The Hake though not differing widely from The Hake

other fish in its inward parts, is nevertheless solitary
in its habits and cannot endure to live with other fish.
It is the only fish that has its heart in its belly and
stones in its brain resembling millstones. At the
rising of the Dog-star ¢ it alone lurks in its den, while
other fish are in the habit of doing so in the very
frostiest seasons.

31. Those who hunt Crabs have hit upon the de- The Crab

vice of luring them with music. At any rate they
catch them by means of a flageolet (this is the name
of an instrument). Now the Crabs have gone down
into their hiding-places, and the men begin to play.
And at the sound, as though by a spell, the Crabs are
induced to quit their den, and then captivated with
delight even emerge from the sea. But the flute-
players withdraw backwards and the Crabs follow
and when on the dry land are caught.

32. Those who live by the lake of Marea ὃ catch the Sprat

the Sprats there by singing with the utmost shrillness,

* About mid-July. |
ὃ Near the westernmost mouth of the Nile.

΄“ c “a
2 παγούρους τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον αἱροῦσιν.
Ld
8 χε. & Jac: γοερωτάτῳ.

49

AELIAN

~ 4 ; .
καὶ κρότῳ ὀστράκων ὁμορροθοῦντι πρὸς τὸ μέλος"

ai δὲ ὥσπερ ὀρχούμεναι ὑπὸ τῷ μέλει πηδῶσι,
καὶ ἐμπίπτουσι τοῖς θηράτροις, ἅπερ οὖν αὐτοῖς
περιπέπταται,: καὶ λαμβάνουσιν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι
θήραν εὔοψον σὺν χορείᾳ τε καὶ παιδιᾷ.

33. Αὐγυπτίους ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι μαγείᾳ τινὶ
ἐπιχωρίῳ τοὺς ὄρνιθας ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταφέ-
pew: τῶν δὲ φωλεῶν τοὺς ὄφεις ἐπαοιδαῖς τισι
καταγοητεύσαντες εἶτα μέντοι προάγουσι ῥᾷστα.

84, ‘O κάστωρ ἀμφίβιόν ἐστι ζῷον, καὶ μεθ᾽
ἡμέραν μὲν ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς καταδὺς διαυτᾶταυ,
νύκτωρ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀλᾶται, οἷς ἂν περιτύχῃ
τούτοις τρεφόμενος. οὐκοῦν ἐπίσταται τὴν αἰτίαν
du ἣν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ot θηραταὶ σὺν προθυμίᾳ τε καὶ
ὁρμῇ τῇ πάσῃ χωροῦσι, καὶ ἐπικύψας καὶ δακὼν
ἀπέκοψε τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ ὄρχεις, καὶ προσέρριψεν
αὐτοῖς, ὡς ἀνὴρ φρόνιμος λῃσταῖς μὲν περιπεσών,
καταθεὶς δὲ ὅσα ἐπήγετο ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτη-
ρίας, λύτρα δήπου ταῦτα ἀλλαττόμενος. ἐὰν δὲ
ἦ πρότερον ἐκτεμὼν ὃ καὶ σωθεὶς εἶτα πάλιν
διώκηται, ὁ δὲ ἀναστήσας ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐπιδείξας
ὅτι τῆς αὐτῶν σπουδῆς οὐκ ἔχει τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, τοῦ
περαιτέρω καμάτου παρέλυσε τοὺς θηρατάς" ἧττον
γάρ τοι 3 τῶν κρεῶν ἐκείνοις φροντίς ἐστι. πολ-
λάκις δὲ καὶ ἔνορχοι ὄντες, ὡς ὅτι πορρωτάτω
ἀποσπάσαντες * τῷ δρόμῳ, εἶτα ὑποστείλαντες τὸ
σπουδαζόμενον μέρος, πάνυ σοφῶς καὶ πανούργως
ἐξηπάτησαν, ὡς οὐκ ἔχοντες ἃ κρύψαντες εἶχον.

͵
1 προσπέπταται.

δὸ

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 32-34

accompanying their song with the clash of castanets.
And the fishes, like women dancing, leap to the tune
and fall into the nets spread for their capture. And
through their dancing and frolics the Egyptians
obtain an abundant catch.

33. I am informed that the Egyptians bring birds negyptian

down from the sky by some magic peculiar to them.
And they have certain spells to bewitch snakes and
draw them without any difficulty from their lurking-
places.

34. The Beaver is an amphibious creature: by day ‘the Beaver

it lives hidden in rivers, but at night it roams the land,
feeding itself with anything that it can find. Now
it understands the reason why hunters come after it
with such eagerness and impetuosity, and it puts
down its head and with its teeth cuts off its testicles
and throws them in their path, as a prudent man who,
falling into the hands of robbers, sacrifices all that he
is carrying, to save his life, and forfeits his possessions
by way of ransom. If however it has already saved
its life by self-castration and is again pursued, then
it stands up and reveals that it offers no ground for
their eager pursuit, and releases the hunters from all
further exertions, for they esteem its flesh less.
Often however Beavers with testicles intact, after
escaping as far away as possible, have drawn in the
coveted part, and with great skill and ingenuity
tricked their pursuers, pretending that they no longer
possessed what they were keeping in concealment. .

3. ἔτι.

5 Mv
EGXOV.

2 <éavrov> ἐκτεμών Reiske.
4 ἑαυτοὺς ἀποσπάσαντες.

51

AELIAN

35. Βούπρηστις ζῶόν ἐστιν, ὅπερ οὖν ἐὰν βοῦς
βρη ᾿

> ,
καταπίῃ, πίμπραται καὶ ῥηγνύμενος ἀπόλλυται οὐ
μετὰ μακρόν.

36. Αἕ κάμπαι ἐπινέμονται τὰ λάχανα, τάχα δὲ
" ͵ ᾽ ᾽ὔ 3 7 A “
καὶ διαφθείρουσιν αὐτά. ἀπόλλυνται δὲ αὗται,

γυνὴ τὴν ἐπιμήνιον κάθαρσιν καθαιρομένη εἰ

διέλθοι μέση τῶν λαχάνων.

37. Elev δ᾽ ἂν βουσὶν ἔχθιστα οἶστρος καὶ
μύωψ. καὶ ὁ μὲν οἷστρος κατὰ τὰς μυίας τὰς
μεγίστας ἐστί, καὶ ἔχει στερεὸν καὶ μέγα κέντρον,

᾿ς / ᾽ 3 / A 4 ξ 4
καὶ ἦχόν τινα βομβώδη ἀφίησι καὶ τραχύν: ὁ δὲ
μύωψ τῇ κυνομυίᾳ προσείκασται, βομβεῖ δὲ τοῦ

“- A
οἴστρου μᾶλλον, ἔλαττον δὲ ἔχει TO κέντρον.

38. Τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἀσπίδος δηχθέντων οὐ μνημονεύε-
ται οὐδεὶς ἐξάντης τοῦ κακοῦ γεγονέναι. ἔνθεν
τοι καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἀκούω τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐπὶ
τῶν διαδημάτων φορεῖν πεποικιλμένας ἀσπίδας,
τῆς ἀρχῆς αἰνυττομένους τὸ ἀνίκητον δὴ ἐκ τῆς
τοῦ ζῴου μορφῆς τοῦ προειρημένου. γίνονται δὲ
καὶ πενταπήχεις ἀσπίδες. καὶ μέλαιναν μὲν αἱ
πλεῖσται ἢ τεφραῖαι, ἴδοις δ᾽ ἂν καὶ πυρρὰν
ἀσπίδα. ot δηχθέντες δὲ ὑπ᾽ ἀσπίδος οὐ περαιτέρω
βιοῦσι. τετάρτης ὥρας, πνιγμὸς δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ
σπασμὸς. διώκει καὶ λυγμός, ws φασιν. ἀκούω
δὲ τὸν ἰχνεύμονα τῆς ἀσπίδος τὰ wa ἀφανίζειν,
οἱονεὶ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ παισὶν ὑπεξαίροντα + τοὺς

μέλλοντας ἀντιπάλους. Λίβυσσαν δὲ ἄρα ἀσπίδα
καὶ ἀποφαίνειν τυφλοὺς τῷ φυσήματι λέγει τις
λόγος...

52

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 35-38

35. The Buprestis (cow-inflater) is a creature which, The _
if swallowed by a cow, causes it to swell and presently ®?"*"
to burst and die.

36. Caterpillars feed upon vegetables and in ashort ‘the _
while destroy them. But they in turn are destroyed ©?!"
if a woman with her monthly courses upon her walks
through the vegetables.

37. The worst enemies of cattle are the Gadfly and The Gaday
the Horsefly. The Gadfly is the size of the very
largest flies, and its sting is powerful and long, and it
makes a harsh buzzing sound. But the Horsefly is The Horse-
like the dogfly: its buzz is louder than the Gadfly,
but its sting is smaller.

38. Among all those who have been bitten by an The Asp
Asp there is no record of a single man having escaped
disaster. That is why (I am told) the Kings of
Egypt wear asps embroidered upon their crowns,
hinting through the figure of the aforesaid creature
at the invincibility of their rule. There are Asps its bite fatal
as much as five cubits long; the majority are black |
or of an ashy hue; and one may even see a red
one. Those who have been bitten by an Asp do not
live for more than four hours and are assailed by
choking and convulsions and retching, so they say.

But 1 am told that the Ichneumon destroys the eggs The

of the Asp with intent to do away with the future 7?™"™"™™"
enemies of its own young. And there is a story that

the Libyan Asp even blinds men with its breath.

@ Comp. 4. 51.

1 ὑπεξαιροῦντα Cobet.

53

SR REST Ho AL IT RELA UT ENT

AELIAN

> 3 \ 4 \ 7 “
99. Εἶτα οὐ χρὴ θαυμάσαι τὴν φύσιν τῇ τε
LAA \ 5 00 ? . a > 4 1 φ
ἄλλῃ καὶ ἐνταῦθα μέντοι; τῶν ἀρρένων... .1 of
πατέρες τοὺς πλείστους νεβροὺς ἀναιροῦσιν, ἵνα
μὴ πληθύωνται εἶτα μέντοι καὶ τὰς μητέρας
ἀναβαίνωσι' μίασμα γὰρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀλόγοις καὶ
ἐναγὲς ἔργον δοκεῖ τοῦτο δήπου. Ἰζύρῳ δὲ καὶ
Παρυσάτιδι, ὦ Πέρσαι, καὶ καλὰ ταῦτα καὶ

2 30 # 4 > / lan A ᾽
ἔνδικα ἐδόκει: καὶ ἐφίλει Κῦρος τὴν μητέρα
κακῶς, καὶ ἐφιλεῖτο ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς φιλίαν
ὁμοίαν. καὶ ταῦτα μέντοι towpéevnst,? οἱ δὲ
ἄνθρωποι πάντων μὲν ἐπιθυμοῦντες, μηδενὸς δὲ

φειδόμενοι.

40. Νῆσος ἐν τῷ Ἰόντῳ “Ἡρακλεῖ ἐπώνυμος
ἐκτετίμηται. οὐκοῦν ὅσον μυῶν ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα
σέβει τὸν θεόν, καὶ πᾶν ὅσον ἀνεῖται αὐτῷ, τοῦτο
πιστεύει τῷ θεῷ κεχαρισμένον ἀνεῖσθαι 8 καὶ οὐκ
ἂν προσάψαιτο αὐτοῦ. οὐκοῦν καὶ ἄμπελος τῷ

“~ ΄" 4 / ξ » 7 -
θεῷ κομᾷ, καὶ τετίμηται ὡς ἀνάθημα αὐτῷ μόνῳ,

καὶ φυλάττουσιν οἱ θεραπευτῆρες τοῦ δαίμονος ἐς
τὰς θυσίας τοὺς βότρυς. ὅταν οὖν ἐς ἀκμὴν αἱ
ῥᾶγες ἔρχωνται, οἱ δὲ ἀπολείπουσι τὴν νῆσον of
μύες, ἵνα μὴ μείναντες ἄκοντες γοῦν προσάψωνται
ὧν θιγεῖν οὐκ ἄμεινον. εἶτα τῆς ὥρας διαδραμού-
σὴς οἱ δὲ ἐς ἤθη τὰ οἰκεῖα ὑποστρέφουσι. καὶ
μυῶν μὲν Ἰ]οντικῶν ἀγαθὰ ratra: Ἵππων δὲ καὶ
1 Lacuna: ζτῶν ἀγρίων ὄνων» τῶν ἀρρένων Jac, comp. Opp.
Cyn. 3. 201-6, Plin. HN 8.108.

2 κεκολασμένως or πεφεισμένως conj. H.
3 ἀφεῖσθαι.

54

PEELE SRS BEASTS ELLIE TELLTALE ESTE NELLIE OBE LEASE PENA TE TAM LETTERS EPL OT DIAS TEA ENE RAYGE SSL EERIE EA LISLE DERE ES SETTEE ADSI EDS ANE DEI TTI EEE SLEEVES ESSN LEEDS ESGLENTBEOAE DSUESERSSOBES SSCS OEE ESCH EISIO EBSSSSSIAL MBP ERIE SALETDIERA NEL EASEGISISC EN AGS Sc USS #1 SECRETS PEI SR ASL
3:

ON ANIMALS, VI. 39-40

_, . the sires destroy most of the male fawns to pre-
yent their multiplying and then mounting their dams.
Even among brute beasts, I fancy, such an act is
yegarded as bringing defilement and a curse. But
Cyrus and Parysatis, you men of Persia, thought it
a fine and legitimate action. And Cyrus conceived
a vile passion for his mother, a passion which his
mother reciprocated. <While animals are moderate
in their desires ?) ? men desire everything and stop at
nothing. |

40. There is an island ® in the Black Sea named Heracles
after Heracles which has been highly honoured.

Now all the Mice there pay reverence to the god, and
every offering that is made to him they believe to
have been made to gratify him and would not touch
it. And so the vine grows luxuriantly in his honour
and is reverenced as an offering to him alone, while
the ministers of the god preserve the clusters for their
sacrifices. Accordingly when the grapes reach
maturity the Mice quit the island so that they may
not, by remaining, even involuntarily touch what is
better not touched. Later when the season has run
its course they return to their own haunts. This is
a merit in the Pontic Mice. But Hippon,° Diagoras,

¢ { have given what may have been the sense of the passage.

Ὁ Unidentified. ᾿

¢ Hippon of Samos, Pythagorean philosopher, 5th cent. B.c.,
satirised by Cratinus as an atheist.—Diagoras of Melos, called
‘the atheist,’ incurred the enmity of the Athenians by his
attacks on their religion and withdrew from Athens, 411 B.c.
—Herostratus of Ephesus burnt the temple of Artemis, 356 B.c.

55

39. Now does not Nature claim our admiration for Animals

᾿ i bhor incest
this reason especially, besides others? Of the males Moen

revered by
Mice

See a my errr ren 1 rrsranreeevr ftir srtsNren tA IWR ASAE SrA AAAS
oA AAR NMA Lire rr RL LE χορ τ TIT ig rr tera 5 τ nino τ ον ΚΣ ΥΗΣ ΟΡ ΣΝ Ν ΉΤΑΝ ΘΟ ne onion sea flat

AELIAN

Διαγόρας καὶ Ἡρόστρατος καὶ 6 λοιπὸς τῶν
θεοῖς ἐχθρῶν κατάλογος πῶς ἂν ἐφείσαντο τῶν
βοτρύων ἢ ἀναθημάτων ἄλλων οὗ καὶ τὰ τῶν
θεῶν ὀνόματα καὶ ἔργα ἁμωσγέπως συλᾶν προῃρη-
μένοι;

41. Ἔθος τοῦτο Αἰγύπτιον. ὅταν κατὰ τὴν
Αἴγυπτον ὕσῃ (ῥανίσι δὲ ὕει λεπταῖς), μύες
παραχρῆμα τίκτονται. οὐκοῦν κατὰ τὰς ἀρούρας
π ανώμενοι οὗτοι λυμαίνονται τοῖς ληΐοις ὑ ὑποτέμ-
νοντες τοὺς στάχυς καὶ ὑποκείροντες, ἤδη μέντοι
καὶ τοὺς σωροὺς τῶν δραγμάτων Kepailovres

λυποῦσι τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα πάγαις.

τε αὐτοὺς ἐλλοχῶσι 1 καὶ θριγκοῖς ἀναστέλλουσι

καὶ τάφροις ἀνείργουσι καὶ κάουσιν 2 ἐν ταύταις
πῦρ. ot τοίνυν μύες οὐδὲ ὃ τὴν ἀρχὴν πρὸς
(ras >" πάγας προσφοιτῶσιν, ἐῶσι δὲ αὐτὰς
ἑστάναι ἄλλως" τοῖς δὲ ,θριγκοῖς καίτοι ὅ λε-
λειωμένοις ὑπὸ τῆς χρίσεως ἐπαναβαίνουσιν,
ἁλτικώτατοί τε 9 ὄντες εἶτα μέντοι ὑπερπηδῶσι
τὰς τάφρους. ὅταν οὖν “ἀπαγορεύσαντες. ot Αἰγύ-
πτίοι τὰς μηχανὰς καὶ τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς ὦ ὡς ἀχρήστους
ἀπολίπωσι καὶ ἐκτραπέντες ἐπί τε δέησιν ἔλθωσι
καὶ ἱκετείας τὰς πρὸς τοὺς θεούς, ἐνταῦθα δήπου
τὴν ἐκ τῶν θεῶν μῆνιν ὀρρωδοῦσιν οἵ μύες, καὶ
ἔς τι ὄρος ἀναχωροῦσι τάξιν πλαισίου φυλάττοντες.
οὗ μὲν οὖν νεώτατοι πρῶτοι, οὐραγοῦσι δὲ οἱ
μέγιστοι, καὶ τοὺς ὑπολειπομένους ἐπιστραφέντες
εἶτα μέντοι ἕπεσθαί σφισιν ἐκβιάζονται. ἐὰν δὲ
ol νεώτατοι κάμνοντες ὑποστῶσι, καὶ τὸ ἑπόμενον

1

56

fd > ~ fd 3 - > “΄-Θ ¢ -
πάγαις. .. ἐλλοχῶσι] πάγας τε αὐτοῖς ἐλλοχῶντες ἱστᾶσι.

YALE SS Sp RSS ett ATG SERINE ERE NUE PREECE ELA AUOE ΤΙ ηδεώρθσοροοροερενφεραεηναφεφνηεν Tabb Se
#

ON ANIMALS, VI. 40-41

and Herostratus, and all the rest in the tale of
heaven’s enemies, how would they have kept their
hands off the grapes or other offerings—men who
preferred by one means or another to rob the gods
of their names and functions.

41. This is what commonly happens in Egypt. The Mouse

When it rains in Egypt (the raindrops are minute)
Mice are produced forthwith. Now they roam the
ploughlands and damage the standing crops by cut-
ting away and nibbling the ears of corn from below,
and actually ravage the stacked sheaves and cause
the Egyptians much trouble. On that account the
people try to trap them, to exclude them by building
walls, to keep them off by digging trenches in which
they light fires. Now the Mice go nowhere near the
traps but allow them to remain useless. And al-
though the walls have been rendered smooth with a
wash of mortar, they climb up them and then, being
exceedingly nimble, Jump over the trenches. And
so the Egyptians abandon their traps and schemes as
ineffectual and turn from them to prayers and suppli-
cations to the gods. Whereupon the Mice, I fancy,
are in dread of the wrath of heaven and retreat in the
formation of a hollow square to some mountain.
Now the youngest go in front and the oldest bring
up the rear, and if any are left behind, the latter turn
and force them to follow. If however the youngest
ones halt from exhaustion, the entire lot behind them

2 ἀναστέλλουσι . . . ἀνείργουσι ΕΝ κάουσιν) ἀδχγἐχλθρτες

. « . ἀνείργοντες . . . καίοντες.
3 Jac: οὔτε. 4 <ras> add. H.
5 Reiske: καὶ τοῖς. 6 Reiske: ye.

51

AELIAN

ἵσταται πᾶν, ws ἐν δυνάμει στρατιωτικῇ πέφυκε
γίνεσθαι. ὅταν δὲ ὑπάρξηται ἡ ἐκ τῶν πρώτων
κίνησις, ἐνταῦθα καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἕπονται. λέγουσι
δὲ καὶ οἱ τὸν Πόντον οἰκοῦντες τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ
ἐκεῖθι τοὺς μῦς δρᾶν. πεπίστευται δὲ καὶ ἐξ
οἰκίας ἁπάσης, ἥτις μέλλει πεσεῖσθαι, ἣ ποδῶν
ἔχουσι μετοικίζεσθαι πάντας. ἰδιότης δὲ ἄρα
μυῶν καὶ ἐκείνη. ἐπειδὰν ἀκούσωσι γαλῆς τρι-
ζούσης ἱ ἢ συρίττοντος ἔχεως, ἐκ τῆς μυωπίας τῆς
μιᾶς τὰ ἑαυτῶν βρέφη ἄλλο ἄλλῃ μετοικίζουσιν.

42, Λόγον δὲ ᾿Ιταλὸν τῇ Συβαριτῶν πόλει
συνακμάσαντος ἔργου μνημονεύοντα καὶ φοιτή-
σαντα ἐς ἐμὲ εἰπεῖν οὐ χεῖρόν ἐστι. τὴν ἡλικίαν
ἀντίπαις, αἰπόλος τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα, ὄνομα ἸΚρᾶθις,
ἐς ὁρμὴν ἀφροδίσιον ἐμπεσὼν τῇ τῶν αἰγῶν ἰδεῖν
ὡραιοτάτῃ μίγνυται, καὶ τῇ ὁμιλίᾳ ἥσθη, καὶ εἴ
ποτε ἐδεῖτο ἀφροδίτης ὡς αὐτὴν ἐφοίτα, καὶ εἶχεν
ἐρωμένην αὐτήν: καὶ μέντοι καὶ οἷα λαμβάνειν
ἠδύνατο δῶρα, τοιαῦτα 6 ἐραστὴς αἰπόλος τῇ
ἐρωμένῃ τῇ προειρημένῃ προσέφερε, καὶ κυτίσου 3
ποτὲ. τοὺς 8 ὡραιοτάτους ἀκρεμόνας καὶ μίλακος
πολλάκις καὶ σχίνου τραγεῖν παρέσχε, τὸ στόμα
ἀποφαίνων αὑτῷ, εἰ δεηθείη φιλῆσαι, εὐῶδες
αὐτῆς. ἀλλὰ καὶ στιβάδα ἐγκαθεύδειν ὡς νύμφῃ
παρεσκεύασεν ἁβροτάτην τε καὶ μαλθακήν. οὔ-
κουν ἀμελῶς ταῦτα ἐθεάσατο ὁ τῆς ἀγέλης
ἡγεμὼν τράγος, ἀλλὰ αὐτὸν ἔσεισι ζηλοτυπία.
καὶ κατέκρυπτε μὲν τέως τὸν θυμόν, καθήμενον
δὲ αὐτόν ποτε ἐλλοχᾷ καὶ καθεύδοντα: ἣν δὲ ἄρα
ἐμβαλὼν τὸ πρόσωπον ἐς τὸν κόλπον. ὡς οὖν

i Jac: τρυζούσης.

58

EBLE PENH AU LD TGP MESA MORE SLES SAAD ELOSEY SLEDS AMMEN SEO UE TEIEGRISEAL ESSERE EROS FEUER 2
i racemic

ON ANIMALS, VI. 41-42

halt also, as is customary for an armed force. And
when the front rank begins to move, then the re-
mainder follow. And the inhabitants of Pontus say
that the Mice there do the same. And it is believed
that whenever a house is threatening to fall, all the
Mice will change house as fast as their legs can carry
them. Now here is another peculiar trait of Mice:
whenever they hear the squeak of a marten or the
hiss of a viper they transfer their young from one
hole to a number of different holes.

42. An Italian story, which records an event that
occurred when affairs were at their prime in the city
of Sybaris, has reached me and is worth relating.

A mere boy, a goatherd by occupation, whose name
was Crathis, under an erotic impulse lay with the
prettiest of his goats, and took pleasure in the union,
and whenever he wanted sexual pleasure he would
goto her; and he kept her as his darling. Moreover
the amorous goatherd would bring to his loved one
aforesaid such gifts as he could procure, offering her
sometimes the loveliest twigs of tree-medick, and
often bindweed and mastic to eat, so making her
mouth fragrant for him if he should want to kiss her.
And he even prepared for her, as for a bride, a leafy
bed ever so luxurious and soft to sleep in. But the
he-goat, the leader of the flock, did not observe these
proceedings with indifference, but was filled with
jealousy. For a time however he dissembled his
anger and watched for the boy to be seated and
asleep; and there he was, his face dropped forward

~~ /
2 κισσοῦ ΟΥ̓ κυτίσας. ᾿ ,
4 4
3 ποτὲ τούς] ποτὲ καὶ σχίνου τοῦς.

59

The story
of Crathis

ΠΕΤΑ͂
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asd eeeeeeeiaeerarataeam

4 At op Ao A era ewe
oF Cees re

τ ἘΣΣΙ, =

meet me ne σοῖς

δ ρυ ch ANG ange bp ad fet

AELIAN

εἶχε δυνάμεως τὴν κεφαλὴν προσήραξε, καὶ
διέθρυψέν οἱ τὸ βρέγμα. διαρρεῖ τοίνυν ἐς τοὺς
ἐπιχωρίους τὰ πραχθέντα, καὶ τῷ μὲν οὐκ ἀφανῆ
τάφον ἀνέστησαν, ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ τὸν ποταμὸν
Ἰζρᾶθιν ὠνόμασαν. γίνεται δὲ ἐκ τῆς ὁμιλίας τῆς
πρὸς τὴν αἶγα παιδίον, καὶ ἦν αἱξ τὰ σκέλη, τὸ
πρόσωπον ἄνθρωπος. τοῦτον καὶ ἐκθεωθῆναι λόγος
ἔχει, καὶ θεὸν ὑλαῖόν τε καὶ ναπαῖον νομισθῆναι
τὸν αὐτόν. μετειληχέναι δὴ καὶ ζηλοτυπίας τὰ
ζῷα ὁ τράγος διδάσκει.

48, Σύριγγας μὲν Αἰγυπτίας ἄδουσιν {μὲν»" οἱ
συγγραφεῖς, ἄδουσι δὲ καὶ λαβυρίνθους τινὰς

ρητικοὺς ἐκεῖνοί τε αὐτοὶ καὶ τὸ τῶν ποιητῶν
φῦλον: μυρμήκων δὲ ἐν γεωρυχίᾳ ποικίλας 3
ἀτραποὺς καὶ ἐλιγμοὺς καὶ περιόδους οὔπω ἴσασι.
σοφίᾳ δὲ ἄρα τὴν ὑπόγειον οἰκονομίαν τήνδε
ἀπεργάζονται * σκολιωτάτην, τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσί
odio. τῶν θηρίων τὴν πάροδον δύσπορον ἢ καὶ
παντελῶς ἄπορον ἀποφαΐνοντες. τὴν δὲ γῆν ἣν
ἐξορύττουσιν, ἀλλὰ ὅ ταύτην ὑπὲρ τοῦ στομίου
περιβαλόντες οἱονεὶ τείχη τινὰ καὶ προβλήματα
ἐργάζονται, ws μὴ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κα-
ταρρέον ὃ εἶτα ῥᾳδίως ἢ αὐτοὺς 8 ἐπικλύσαν ἢ
ἀπολέσῃ πάντας ἢ τούς γε πλείστους. αἱμασιὰς
δέ τινας μέσας διειργούσας am ἀλλήλων τοὺς
χηραμοὺς διατειχίζουσι καὶ μάλα ἐντέχνως, εἶεν
δ᾽ ἂν οἱ χῶροι τρεῖς, ὡς ἐν οἰκίᾳ σοβαρᾷ. καὶ τὸν
μὲν ἀποφαίνουσιν ἀνδρῶνα 5 εἶναι, ἐν ᾧ διαυτῶνται
of ἄρρενες καὶ ὅσον σὺν αὐτοῖς θῆλυ: τὸν δὲ

1 χῇ κεφαλῇ προσέρρηζε. 5. <uev> add. A,

3 ποικίλας τε. 4 Reiske: ὑπεργάζονται.

60

|
|
|
i
|
|
|

ON ANIMALS, VI. 42-43

on his chest. So with all the force at his command
the he-goat.dashed his head against him and smashed

the fore-part of his skull.

The event reached the ears of the inhabitants, and
it was no mean tomb that they erected for the boy;
and they called their river ‘ the Crathis ’ after him.
From his union with the she-goat a baby was born
with the legs of a goat and the face ofa man. The
story goes that he was deified and was worshipped
as a god of the woods and vales. From the goat we
learn that animals have indeed their share of jealousy.

48, Historians celebrate the underground passages An
of the Egyptians; they also with the company of ms
poets celebrate certain labyrinths in Crete. They
have yet to learn of the elaborate tracks with their
mazy windings dug by Ants in the earth. Now in
their wisdom these make their underground dwelling
so very tortuous as to render access difficult or totally
impossible for such creatures as have designs upon
them. And the soil which they excavate they put
around the mouth, forming as it were walls and
barriers, so that the rain which descends from the sky
may not easily flood them and destroy all or at any
rate most of them. And with consummate skill they
build partitioning walls, as you might say, to separate
their cells from one another, and, as in some fine
house, there will be three divisions: the first they
design for the ‘ men’s quarters,’ in which the males
live and any females that are with them; the second,

<i

5 ἀλλὰ Kal. δ Cobet: καταθέον Mss, Π.
. » “ἡ

? Reiske: p. εἶτα. 8 Ges: αὐτῶν.

9 ὅσον ἀνδρῶνα.

61

AELIAN

ἕτερον, ἔνθα ἀποτίκτουσι κύουσαι μύρμηκες,
οἱονεὶ γυναικῶνα: τρίτον δ᾽ ἕτερον θησαυρόν τε
καὶ σιρὸν ἀποκρίνουσι τοῖς ἠθροισμένοις σπέρμασι.
καὶ οὔτε ᾿Ισχόμαχος ἐνταῦθα οὔτε Σωκράτης
ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀξιοζήλου οἰκονομίας σπουδάζοντες
διδάσκουσιν αὐτά. οἱ δὲ μύρμηκες προϊόντες
ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπισιτίσασθαι, τοῖς μεγίστοις ἕπονται"
οὗ δὲ ἄγουσι. στρατηγῶν δίκην. καὶ ἐς τὰ λήια
ἐλθόντες οἱ μὲν ἔτι νεαροὶ τὴν καλάμην ὑφεστᾶσιν,
ot δὲ ἡγεμόνες ἀνέρπουσι, καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους
οὐραχοὺς τῶν καρπίμων διατραγόντες τῷ δήμῳ
τῷ κάτω ῥίπτουσιν" οἱ δὲ περιελθόντες τοὺς μὲν
ἀθέρας ἀἁποκόπτουσιν, ἐκλέπουσι δὲ τὰς τὸν πυρὸν
στεγούσας τε καὶ περιαμπεχούσας θυλακίδας. καὶ
μήτε ἀλοητοῦ δεόμενοι μήτε ἀνδρῶν λικμῆσαι
7 \ 3 ,ὔ

δυναμένων μήτε μὴν ἐπειγομένων πνευμάτων
ἀποκρῖναι καὶ διαστῆσαι τάς τε ἄχνας καὶ τὸν
καρπόν, ἀνθρώπων ἀρούντων τε καὶ σπειρόντων
τροφὰς “ἔχουσι μύρμηκες. σοφὸν δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖνο
προσακήκοα, ὅτι ἄρα τοὺς τεθνεῶτας μύρμηκας
οὗ προσήκοντες ἐν ταῖς τῶν πυρῶν κηδεύουσι
θυλακίσιν, ὡς πατέρας ἢ πᾶν τὸ φίλιον ἐν ταῖς
σοροῖς οἵ ᾿ἄνθρωποι.

44. Ἵππος εἰ τυγχάνοι κηδεμονίας, ἀμείβεται
τὸν εὐεργέτην εὐνοίᾳ τε καὶ φιλίᾳ. καὶ ὁποῖος
μὲν ἦν ὁ Βουκεφάλας ἐς ᾿Αλέξανδρον διαρρεῖ
πανταχόσε ὁ λόγος, καὶ οὔ μοι ἔγειν αὐτὸν
ἡδιόν ἐστι. καὶ τὸν ᾿Αντιόχου δὲ ἵππον τὸν
τιμωρήσαντα τῷ δεσπότῃ καὶ ἀποκτείναντα τὸν
Γαλάτην ὅσπερ οὖν ἀπέσφαξε τὸν ᾿Αντίοχον ἐν τῇ

62

τος δδήνεόκα AERA LEAEC DANA RNMER EE DUR EEEN NEE ιηρνοσνἐάς ELIE EE OESE GOES CLENIEL STL TENTESTALE NGS SER OAS GLE OLLIE ELITE RT I ILENE ETRE LR SELES ETE ADE IOAN YTS

ON ANIMALS, VI. 43-44

in which the pregnant ants bring forth their young—

the “women’s quarters,’ as it might be; and the -

third they set apart as a treasury and a pit for the
seeds they have collected. And no Ischomachus,*
no Socrates, with their interest in the management
of a household on admirable lines, is there to teach
them these things. When Ants go abroad to collect
food, they follow the biggest ones, and these lead the

way, like generals. And as soon as they reach the

crops the young ones stand at the foot of the stalks
while the leaders crawl up and having eaten through
what are called the ‘ rhacillae’ of the fruitful ears,
throw the ears down to the crowd below. And these
go about and cut off the chaff and peel off the capsules
that protect and envelop the wheat. They need no
threshing, no men who can winnow, nor even ‘ rush-
ing winds ᾿ {Hom. JI. 5. 501] to separate and sunder
the chaff and the grain, yet the Ants possess the food
of men who plough and sow.

I have also heard the following example of their
cleverness: their relations bury dead ants in the
capsules of wheat, just as men bury their parents or
all whom they love in coffins.

44. If a Horse receives careful attention, he repays
his benefactor by being good-natured and friendly.
How Bucephalus bore himself to Alexander is a story
that is current everywhere and would give me no
pleasure to repeat. I shall also pass over the horse
of Antiochus? which avenged his master by killing

* Ischomachus in Xenophon’s Oeconomicus (chs. 7—-end)
propounds a system of domestic. economy that wins the
approval of Socrates.

> Antiochus Soter, founder of the Seleucid dynasty, reigned
280-261 3.c.; fell in battle against the Gauls.

63

The Horse’s

devotion to
its master

AELIAN

μάχῃ (ὄνομα δὲ τῷ Γαλάτῃ ἹΚεντοαράτης ἣν) « ἐῶ

καὶ τοῦτον. Σωκλῆς δὲ ἄρα (οὐ γάρ τί που
πολλοὶ τόνδε μοι δοκοῦσιν ἐγνωκέναι) ᾿Αθηναῖος
μὲν ἦν, καλὸς δὲ καὶ ἐδόκει καὶ ἐπεφύκει. οὗτος
οὖν ἐπρίατο ἵππον ὡραῖον μὲν καὶ αὐτόν, ἐρωτι-
κὸν δὲ é ἰσχυρῶς καὶ οἷον σοφώτερον ἢ κατὰ τοὺς
ἄλλους 1 ἵππους. οὐκοῦν ἐρᾷ τοῦ δεσπότου δριμύ-
TATA, καὶ προσιόντος ἐῤφριμάττετο καὶ ἐπικροτοῦν-
τος ἐφρυάττετο, καὶ ἀναβαΐνοντος ἑαυτὸν παρεῖχεν
εὐπειθῆ, καὶ παρεστῶτος κατὰ πρόσωπον ὁ δὲ
ὑγρὸν ἑώρα. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐρωτικὰ ὄντα ἤδη
ὅμως τερπνὰ. ἐδόκει: ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦν WS τι καὶ ὃρα-
σείων ἐς τὸ μειράκιον προπετέστερος, καὶ διέρρει
λόγος ὑπὲρ ἀμφοῖν ἁτοπώτερος, ὁ Σωκλῆς οὐκ
ἐνεγκὼν τὸ ἀπόφημον, ὡς ἐραστὴν ἀκόλαστον
μισήσας ἀπημπόλησε τὸν ἵππον. ὁ δὲ οὐ φέρων

ν ἐρημίαν τὴν amd τοῦ καλοῦ, ἑαυτὸν τοῦ ζῆν
ἀπήλλαξε λιμῷ βιαιοτάτῳ.

45. Νοοῦσι δὲ ἄρα ἀτταγᾶς μὲν ἁλεκτρυόνι
ἔχθιστα, ἁλεκτρυὼν δὲ αὖ πάλιν ἀτταγᾷ, καὶ
κορώνῃ «κίρκος καὶ ἐκείνη ἐκείνῳ, καὶ πελαγίῳ
ἱέρακι ὁ κόραξ καὶ κόρακι ἐκεῖνος, τρυγόνι τε
κόραξ καὶ. κίρκος, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἡ τρυγὼν
ἑκατέρῳ. “πέπυσμαι. δὲ καὶ πελαργὸν νυκτερίδα
μισεῖν, καὶ “ἐκείνην ἀντιμισεῖν ὡς πολέμιον, πελε-
Kava δὲ μὴ νοεῖν φίλα ὄρτυγι. καὶ ἀμοιβὴν τοῦ
μίσους ἀκούω εἶναι.

46. ᾿Αποκτίννυσι δὲ ἀετὸν μὲν τὸ Madeira
σύμφυτον, τὴν δὲ [Bw δαίνης χολή, σκορόδου

1 ἄλλους ὁρᾶν.
64

ON ANIMALS, VI. 44-46

the Gaul (his name was Centoarates) who slew Antio-
chus on the battlefield. Socles then, about whom
not many seem to know, was an Athenian who was
esteemed, and indeed was, a comely boy. Now he
bought a horse, handsome too like its master but of
a violently amorous disposition and with a far sharper

eye than other horses. Hence it conceived a passion-
ate love for its master, and when he approached, it
would snort; and if he patted it, it would neigh;
when he ΒΗ ΒΕ ΠΕΡῚ it would be docile; when he stood
before it, it would cast languishing glances at him.
These actions already savoured of love, but were
thought pleasing. When however the horse, becom-
ing too reckless, seemed to be meditating an assault
upon the boy, and tales about the pair of a too mon-
strous nature began to circulate, Socles would not
tolerate the aie ce and in his detestation of a
licentious lover sold the horse. But the animal could
not bear to be separated from the beautiful boy and
ended its days by a rigorous starvation. _

45. The Francolin entertains the bitterest hatred Birds and
for the Cock, and the Cock on its side for the Franco- tnnities

lin; likewise the Falcon for the Crow, and vice versa;
and the Raven for the Sea-hawk, and the Sea-hawk
for it; the Raven and the Falcon for the Turtle-dove,
and the Turtle-dove for both. I have learnt also that
the Stork abhors the Bat, and the Bat in return
abhors it as an enemy; and the Pelican, I am told, is
not friendly disposed to the Quail, and their hatred
is mutual.

46. To the Eagle the herb called comfrey is fatal;
to the Ibis the gall of the Hyena; to the Starling the

65

YOL. 11. D

δ τα eh are pe RANA τῆς arabe Cen ravine toe we
PARMA
BREE Be pH

tele nbd Lax even taatadiiarnnin tment
ἘΞ

AELIAN

σπέρμα τὸν dpa, χαραδριὸν ἄσφαλτος, τὸν δὲ

ἔλανον + 6 καλούμενος ποταμογείτων. ἔλανος δὲ
αἰθυίας χολὴν οὐχ ὑπομένει. κίρκος δὲ καὶ λάρος
καὶ τρυγὼν καὶ κόσσυφος καὶ τὸ γυπῶν ἔθνος
σίδην κοπεῖσαν εἰ διατράγοιεν, ἀπολώλασι.
κέδρου τὸν καλαμοδύτην ἀπόλλυσι φύλλα, ἄνθος
δὲ ἄγνου τὸν μελαγκόρυφον, κόρακα δὲ εὐξζώμου
σπέρμα. μύρῳ κάνθαρος ἀποθνήσκει, στέατι δορ-
κάδος ὁ ἔποψ. κορώνη δὲ λυκοβρώτου κρέως
λειψάνῳ περιτυχοῦσα ἀποθνήσκει. κορυδαλλὸς δὲ
νάπυος σπέρματι, γέρανος ἀμπέλου δάκρυον σπά-
σασα διεφθάρη.

47. Λαγὼ δὲ πέρι καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἔπεισιν εἰπεῖν
τοιαῦτά μοι. ἐς τὴν κοίτην τὴν συνήθη οὐ
πάρεισιν ὁ λαγὼς πρὶν ἢ ταράξαι τὰ ἴχνη, πῇ μὲν
ἐσιὼν πῇ δὲ ἐξιών, ἵνα ἀφανίσῃ τὴν ἐκ τῶν
θηρατῶν ἐς αὐτὸν ἐπιβουλήν, σοφίᾳ τινὶ φυσικῇ τὸ
nptov τοὺς ἀνθρώπους αἱμυλώτατα ἀπατῆσαν.

48. “Μήτηρ δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἡ θήλεια ἵππος ἀγαθὴ

3 “~ ἡλ om > 2 “ἡ “ /
ἦν Kat τοῦ πώλου τοῦ ἐξ αὐτῆς μεμνῆσθαι δεινή.
Ὁ Ψ Ἀ ~ >

ὅπερ οὖν κατεγνωκὼς Δαρεῖος 6 κάτω εἶτα μέντοι

ἐπήγετο ἐς τὰς μάχας ἐξ ὠδίνων ἵππους τὰ βρέφη
καταλιπούσας οἴκοι. τρέφονται δὲ καὶ ὀρφανοὶ
μητέρων οἱ πῶλοι γάλακτι ξένῳ, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ
οἱ ἄνθρωποι. οὐκοῦν ὅτε ἡ τροπὴ τῆς μάχης τῆς
κατὰ τὸν Ἰσσὸν τὰ Περσῶν πιέζειν ὑπήρξατο, καὶ
ἐνικᾶτο Δαρεῖος, ἵππον ἀνέβη θῆλυν, φυγῆς δεόμε-
νος καὶ σωτηρίας ὠκίστης. ἡ δὲ ἄρα τοῦ κατα-

+ Oud, Klein: ἐχῖνον. . . ἐχῖνος MSS, ‘ corrupt’ Η.

66

ON ANIMALS, VI. 46-48

seed of garlic; to the Stone-curlew bitumen; to
the Kite pondweed, as it is called. And the Kite
cannot endure the gall of the Shearwater. If a
Falcon, or a Sea-mew, or a Turtle-dove, or a Black-
bird, or the whole Vulture tribe eat a sliced pome-

ranate, they die. The leaves of the cedar are fatal
to the Reed-warbler(?); the flower of the agnus-
castus to the Marsh-tit; to the Raven the seed of
the rocket. The Beetle is killed by perfume, and
the Hoopoe by the fat of a gazelle. Ifa Crow comes
upon the remains of flesh which a wolf has eaten, it is
killed. A Lark is destroyed by mustard-seed, and a
Crane if it drinks the gum from a vine.

47. It occurs to me at this point to speak of the The Hare

Hare as follows. The Hare does not repair to its
accustomed form until it has confused its tracks,
here in entering, and there in leaving, in
order to defeat the designs of huntsmen. It is by
some kind of natural sagacity that it tricks men so
very craftily.

48. It seems that the Mare is in fact a good mother The Mare

and cherishes the memory of her foal. The younger
Darius had noted this; hence he would take into battle
some mares that had lately foaled and had left their
young athome. Foals that lose their dams are reared
on the milk of a stranger, just as human beings are.
Now when the changing fortune of the battle of Issus
began to press the Persians, and Darius was being
defeated, he mounted a Mare, being anxious to
escape and to save himself with all possible speed.

2 ῥοιᾶς σίδην.

67

ερφν GRAS nn ἐτῶν GUD NERS tI EAS tL WALTON HORRIBLE OAM a BAEC aa SEED SL

ro py ar a et Ae eee
ERS SYS SSUES EOE IE ST TSE REDE TOT MOTTON OF DRA ETT EOS

oa awa

Bnet perme

A SPE Fa μαι pe
PORE TONEY

AELIAN

λειφθέντος μνήμῃ, ws εἶχεν ἐπιθυμίας καὶ ποδῶν,

4 , “ “a ~ ~
τὸν δεσπότην ὑμνεῖται τῆς ἀκμῆς τῶν ἐπικειμένων
κινδύνων ἐξαρπάσαι. |

49. “Hyiovos γέρων ᾿Αθήνησιν ὑπό ye τοῦ
δεσπότου τοῦ ἰδίου τῶν ἔργων ἀπολυθείς, ὡς
᾿Αριστοτέλης λέγει, τοῦ μὲν φιλοπόνου καὶ
ἐθελουργοῦ καθ᾽ ἡλικίαν ἑαυτὸν οὐκ ἀφῆκεν.
ἡνίκα γοῦν ᾿Αθηναῖοι κατεσκεύαζον τὸν Παρθε-
νῶνα, οὔτε ἐπισύρων οὔτε ἀχθοφορῶν ὅμως τοῖς
νέοις ὀρεῦσι προφορουμένοις τὴν ὁδὸν ἄκλητος καὶ
ἑκὼν οἱονεὶ παράσειρος ἤει, δορυφορῶν ὡς ἂν
εἴποις καὶ παρορμῶν τὸ ἔργον τῇ βαδίσει τῇ
κοινῇ δύκην τεχνίτου παλαιοῦ τοῦ μὲν αὐτουργεῖν
ὑπὸ τοῦ γήρως ἀπολυθέντος, ἐμπειρίᾳ δὲ καὶ 1
διδασκαλίᾳ ὑποθήγοντός τε ἅμα τοὺς νέους καὶ
ἐπαίροντος. ταῦτα οὖν μαθόντες ὃ δῆμος τῷ
κήρυκι ἀνειπεῖν προσέταξαν, εἴτε ἀφίκοιτο ἐς τὰ
ἄλφιτα, εἴτε ἐς τὰς κριθὰς παραβάλοι, μὴ ἀνείρ-
yew, ἀλλ᾽ ἐᾶν σιτεῖσθαι ἐς κόρον, καὶ τὸν δῆμον
ἐκτίνειν τὸ ἀργύριον, τρόπον τινὰ ἀθλητῇ συτή-
σεως ἐν Πρυτανείῳ 3 δοθείσης ἤδη γέροντι.

50. Κλεάνθην τὸν "Ασσιον κατηνάγκασε καὶ
ἄκοντα εἶξαι καὶ ἀποστῆναι τοῖς ζῴοις τοῦ καὶ
ἐκεῖνα λογισμοῦ μὴ διαμαρτάνειν ἀντιλέγοντα
ἰσχυρῶς καὶ κατὰ κράτος ἱστορία τοιαύτη φασίν.
ἔτυχεν 6 Κλεάνθης καθήμενος καὶ μέντοι καὶ

* καὶ παλαιᾷ διδασκαλίᾳ.

68

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ON ANIMALS, VI. 48-50

And the Mare, remembering the foal she had left
behind, is celebrated for having with the uttermost
eagerness and at full speed snatched her master away
from the critical moment of urgent danger.

49. At Athens an aged Mule was released from an aged
work by its master, so Aristotle tells us [HA 577 Ὁ 30], Mule

but declined to abandon its love of labour and its
willingness to work on the score of age. Thus, at the
time when the Athenians were erecting the Par-
thenon, though it neither drew nor carried burdens,
yet it would unbidden and of its own free will walk
by the young mules as they went back and forth, like
a horse harnessed alongside a pair, acting as guard,
so to speak; and by treading a common path it en-
couraged their work, like some old craftsman whom
age has released from labour with his hands but
whose experience and knowledge are a stimulus and
incitement to the young. Now when the people got
to hear of this they directed the herald to proclaim
that if it came in quest of barleymeal or approached
to get corn, it was not to be prevented but was to be
allowed to eat its fill, and that the populace would
defray the cost, as in the case of an athlete who in his
old age was given his meals in the Prytaneum.

50. The following story, they say, shows how
Cleanthes of Assos was forced against his will and
in spite of his vehement arguments to the contrary, to
make a concession to animals and to allow that they
too are not destitute of reasoning power. Cleanthes
happened to be seated and moreover was resting

2 ἐκτίνειν ἐν Πρυτανείῳ MSS, H; ἐν IT. transposed by Cobet.

69

Cleanthes
and the

Ants

AELIAN

σχολὴν ἄγων μακροτέραν ἄλλως. οὐκοῦν μήρμη-
κες Ξ «περὶ τοῖς ποσὶν ἦσαν αὐτῷ πολλοί. ὁ δὲ
ἄρα ὁρᾷ ἐξ ἀτραποῦ τινος ἑτέρας νεκρὸν μύρμηκα
μύρμηκας ἄλλους κομίζοντας ἐς οἶκον ἑτέρων καὶ
ἑαυτοῖς οὐ συντρόφων, καὶ ἐπί γε τῷ χείλει «τῆς
μυρμήκιᾶς ἑστῶτας αὐτῷ νεκρῷ, καὶ ἀνιόντας
κάτωθεν ἑτέρους καὶ συνιόντας δ τοῖς ξένοις ὡς
ἐπί τινι εἶτα κατιόντας τοὺς αὐτούς, καὶ πλεονάκις
τοῦτο. καὶ τελευτῶντας σκώληκα otovet λύτρα
κομίσαι, τοὺς δὲ ἐκεῖνον μὲν λαβεῖν, προέσθαι δὲ
ὅνπερ οὖν ἐπήγοντο νεκρόν. καὶ ἐκείνους ὑποδέ-
ξασθαι ἀσμένως ὡς υἱὸν κομιζομένους ἢ ἀδελφόν.
τί οὖν πρὸς ταῦτα ᾿Ἡσίοδος λέγει, λέγων ὅτι ἄρα

es PN \ , > 7 ΒΕ ν᾿ 9} 47

ὃ Ζεὺς τὰς φύσεις ἀπέκρινε, καὶ οὖν καὶ “ ἰχθύσι
, , Ἀ 3 a a3

μὲν Kat θηρσὶ Kat οἰωνοῖς πετεηνοῖς ἔδωκεν

yar’) 3 7} > A > , > κ > —
ἔσθειν ἀλλήλους, ἐπεὶ od δίκη ἐστὶ μετ᾽ αὐτοῖς,
3 θ ᾽ὔ δ᾽ a) od 3 7 LAA ? > “ ~
ἀνθρώποισι δ᾽ ἔδωκε δίκην᾽; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐρεῖ ταῦτα
€ TI f uw \ ? “~ A ¢ sy 7
6 Πρίαμος, εἴ ye Kat ἐκεῖνος τὸν “Exropa ἐλύ-
σατο πολλῶν κειμηλίων καὶ θαυμαστῶν παρὰ
~ > Ya :
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου 6 ἄνθρωπος καὶ τοῦ ἥρωος καὶ
“ ? fd “~ o
τοῦ Διὸς ἐκγόνου καὶ ἐκεῖνος ὧν ἔκγονος τοῦ
4
Διός.

δ1. Karnyopet τῆς δαμάδος. τὸ ἔργον αὐτὸ ἡμῖν
τὸ ὄνομα. καὶ EXEWS μέν ἐστιν ὀλιγωτέρα τὸ
μέγεθος, ἀποκτεῖναι δὲ ὀξυτέρα: οἱ γάρ τοι τῷ
δήγματι. προσπεσόντες ἐξάπτονταί τε ἐς Siipos
καὶ πιεῖν -ἀναφλέγονται καὶ ἀμυστὶ σπῶσι καὶ
τάχιστα ῥήγνυνται. καί φησι μὲν Σώστρατος
λευκὴν εἷναι τὴν SubdSa, ἐπί ye μὴν τῆς οὐρᾶς
1 καὶ μύρμηκες. 2 συνόντας.

70

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ON ANIMALS, VI. so-sz

quietly for some time. Now there were Ants about
his feet in great numbers. So he observed how some
were conveying a dead ant out of one track to a nest
belonging to other ants not of their own kin. And
they paused on the edge of the nest with the corpse
while others came up from below and met the
strangers seemingly with a view to some consulta-
tion; the same Ants then went down into the nest.
And this happened several times until finally they
brought up a worm, as it were aransom. And the
other party accepted it and surrendered the dead
body which they had brought. And the Ants in the
nest were glad to receive it, as though they were
recovering a son or brother.

Now what answer can Hesiod make to this when
he says [OD 277] that Zeus has made a distinction

between various natures and has granted

‘to fish on the one hand and to beasts and to
winged fowl] that they should devour one another,
for among them there is no justice, but to man-
kind has he granted justice ἦν

But Priam will not admit this, since it was at the cost
of many marvellous treasures that even he, a man
and moreover a descendant of Zeus, redeemed Hector

_ from the man who was also a hero and a descendant

of Zeus.

51. The name of the Dipsas (thirst-provoker) de-
clares to us what it does. 10 15 smaller than the viper,
but kills more swiftly, for persons who chance to be
bitten burn with thirst and are on fire to drink and
imbibe without stopping and in a little while burst.
Sostratus declares that the Dipsas is white, though

71

The
* Dipsas ’
snake

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, VI. 51

it has two black stripes on its tail. And I have heard
that some people call these snakes presteres (inflaters) ;
others, kausones (burners). In fact they deluge this
creature with ahostofnames. It has also been called
melanurus (black-tail), so they say, and by others
ammobates (sand-crawler); and should you also hear
it also called kentris (stinger), you may take it from
me that the same snake is meant.

And it behoves me to repeat a story (which I know Die Ἀδὰ
from having heard it) regarding this creature, so that ees
I may not appear to be ignorant of it. It is said that of sts

ἔχειν γραμμὰς μελαΐνας δύο. ἀκούω δὲ ὅτι καὶ
mpnorijpas αὐτὰς καλοῦσί τίνες, καύσωνας δὲ
ἄλλοι" ὄχλον δὲ ἄρα ὀνομάτων ἐπαντλοῦσι τῷδε᾽
τῷ θηρίῳ .3 τε ται δὲ καὶ μελάνουρος, ὦ ὥς φασι,
καὶ ἀμμοβάτης εἰ δὲ ἀκούσειας 4 κεντρίδα,
τὴν αὐτήν μοι λέγεσθαι νόει. δεῖ δὲ καὶ μῦθον
τῷδε TH CHM ἐπᾶσαί pe ὄνπερ οὖν ἀκούσας
οἶδα," ὡς ἂν μὴ δοκοίην ἀμαθῶς ἔχειν αὐτοῦ. τὸν
Ἰρομηθέα κλέψαι τὸ πῦρ ἡ φήμη φησί, καὶ τὸν

Δία ,ἀγανακτῆσαι ὃ μῦθος λέγει καὶ τοῖς κατα-

ADRES LETT ASDA NA TL PASTE RISLIS θα OREN

Sipe γρέγφέχοι Be Os σε δ =

went

EEA Ea LER LL EEA LEDC ELD ELE LA LEED EE SLY EELS EEE ISD DIL ALLAN ENE ETL CLL EL ALLE A A ALELICALEBR SAIL LEB LASALLE EES LENE LED AAR IL ALA DANE L EES PLD EEL EASE SLA LANAI LAID LED ASL EDA IIA SL LEE EEL EA BIA GL A AEN PLL AACA ODD VEGETATED EAA AAD AAPL IAL CLAD I ALLA L DOE AEELE ALS PELLILED AD SEF Af ETRE CAL LAL LEEDS PIA LAPT IEP ACEI DNC ADIL PLIL IL SDI LAN LAL ALAN IDADII LAT τ,

μηνύσασι τὴν κλοπὴν δοῦναι φάρμακον γήρως
ἀμυντήριον. τοῦτο οὖν ἐπὶ ὄνῳ θεῖναι τοὺς
λαβόντας πέπυσμαι. καὶ τὸν μὲν προϊέναι τὸ
ἄχθος φέροντα, εἶναι δὲ ὥραν θέρειον, καὶ δυψῶντα
τὸν ὄνον ἐπί τινα κρήνην κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ποτοῦ
χρείαν ἐλθεῖν. τὸν οὖν ὄφιν τὸν φυλάττοντα
ἀναστέλλειν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπελαύνειν, καὶ ἐκεῖνον
στρεβλούμενον μισθόν οἱ τῆς φιλοτησίας δοῦναι
ὅπερ οὖν ἔτυχε φέρων φάρμακον. οὐκοῦν ἀντίδο-
σις γίνεται, καὶ ὃ μὲν πίνει, ὁ δὲ τὸ γῆρας ἀποδύε-
ται, προσεπιλαβὼν ὡς λόγος τὸ τοῦ ὄνου δίψος.
τί οὖν; ἐγὼ τοῦ μύθου ποιητής; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν
εἴποιμι, ἐπεὶ καὶ πρὸ ἐμοῦ Σοφοκλῆς O τῆς
τραγῳδίας ποιητὴς καὶ Δεινόλοχος ὁ ὁ ἀνταγωνιστὴς
᾿Επιχάρμου καὶ Ἴβυκος 6 “Ῥηγῖνος καὶ ᾿Αριστίας
καὶ ᾿Απολλοφάνης ποιηταὶ κωμῳδίας ἄδουσιν
αὐτόν.

ἄλλοι. γίνονται δὲ ἄρα ἐν Λιβύῃ τε καὶ ᾿Αραβίᾳ μᾶλλον.
θηρίῳ καὶ ἄλλων.

ἀμμοβάτης ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων.

ἀκούσαις καί. ᾿

οἷδα, οὐ σιωπήσομαι τοῦτον.

ar fw πὰ

72

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Prometheus stole fire, and the story goes that Zeus
was angered and bestowed upon those who laid in-
formation of the theft a drug to ward off old age. So
they took it, as I am informed, and placed it upon an
ass. ‘The ass proceeded with the load on its back;
and it was summer time, and the ass came thirsting
to a spring in its need for a drink. Now the snake
which was guarding the spring tried to prevent it and
force it back, and the ass in torment gave it as the
price of the loving-cup the drug that it happened to
be carrying. And so there was an exchange of gifts :
the ass got his drink and the snake sloughed his old
age,* receiving in addition, so the story goes, the ass's
thirst.

What then? Did I invent the legend? I will
deny it, for before me it is celebrated by Sophocles,’
the tragic poet, and Dinolochus, the rival of Epi-
charmus, and Ibycus of Rhegium, and the comic poets
Aristias and Apollophanes.

* Tijpas is used in two senses: (i) old age, (ii) old

Sophocles, in his Kwdol Σάτυροι Κγ. 362 P]. Of the follow-
ing poets no fragment relating to this story survives.

73

AELIAN

3 /

52. Σοφὸν ἐλέφαντος ἔργον εἰ παραλίποιμι,
φήσει μέ τις ἀγνοήσαντα οὐκ εἰπεῖν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ
- “-“ > -
ἀκοῆς ἄξιον, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἀκούσωμεν αὐτοῦ. 6
-- ~ A 4 f' --
τῆς τούτου κομιδῆς ἐγχειρισθεὶς τὴν φροντίδα τῶν
A “ ξ 7 ὔ ὃ \ ξ / 3 /
μὲν κριθῶν ὑφήρει, λίθους δὲ ὑποπάττων ἐκείνῳ
μὲν ἄβρωτον τὸ πλεῖστον εἰργάζετο, ἀπέσωζε δὲ
τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ μέτρου πρὸς τὸν ἐπισκοποῦντα
ἀμφοῖν δεοπότην. καὶ τέως διελάνθανεν. οὐκοῦν
¢€ 3. 7 > 7 3 \ hd 4 3 / 7 ¢€
ὁ ἐλέφας ἀθάρην ἰδὼν exovra τὸν ἐπίβουλόν oi,
τῆς ἄμμου τῆς ἐν ποσὶ τῇ προβοσκίδι χύδην
ἀναλαβὼν ἐνέβαλεν ἐς τὴν χύτραν καὶ ἠμύνατο

> Ὁ “Ξ--
ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἔπαθε δι᾿ ὧν ἐποίησεν εὐμηχάνως.

4 “~ “~
53. Οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι κύνες Kat ἑλεῖν Kal ἀνιχνεῦσαι
4 f / ξ , > 2 “ 4
τὰ θηρία σοφοί, ot δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι φυγεῖν δεινότατοι.
τὰ γοῦν ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ δεδιότας ἄγει μὲν αὐτοὺς τὸ
f ~ ~ ~ :
δίψος πιεῖν, ἡσυχῆ δὲ Kal ἐς κόρον πιεῖν τὸ δέος
οὐ συγχωρεῖ. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα οὐ πίνουσιν ἐπικύ-
ψαντες, ὡς ἂν μή τι τῶν κάτωθεν ἀνερπύσαν εἶτα

3 / 3 f ϑ' an) 1 A 2}
ἐξαρπάσῃ αὐτούς. οὐκοῦν τὴν μὲν ὄχθην παρα-

“ 7 \ oN 4 ς iA e
θέουσι, λάπτουσι δὲ τῇ γλώττῃ, ἁρπάζοντες ὡς
1 ἢ ~
av εἴποι τις ἢ Kat νὴ Δία κλέπτοντες TO πῶμα.

54. ᾿Εχῖνος, οὐχ 6 θαλάσσιος, ἀλλ᾽ ὃ χερσαῖος,
πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα ὥς ἐστι πανοῦργος ἤδη μοι
λέλεκται, ὃ δὲ οὐκ εἶπον αὐτοῦ δολερὸν ἔργον,
τοῦτο εἰρήσεται τὰ νῦν. μέλλων ἁλίσκεσθαι ἕαυ-
τὸν συνειλήσας ἄληπτον ἐργάζεται, εἶτα μέντοι
καὶ πιέζει τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἀκίνητος ἀτρεμεῖ καὶ τὸν
τεθνεῶτα ὑποκρίνεται.

α See 8.10; 4. 17.

14.

i
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ΜΉ LALA SNE EL EET EASED EDER SESE DIV NLP 000 ΤΠ EERE ISLET MEEVEE EI τος οὐ ELV ALLELES

ON ANIMALS, VI. 52-54

52. Were I to pass over a piece of cleverness on the An Elephant

part of an Elephant, someone will say that I failed §
through ignorance to record it. And it is really
worth hearing, so let us hear it. The man who was
entrusted with the care of its food was in the habit
of purloining its corn, and by scattering stones under-
neath it he rendered most of the food uneatable, while
preserving the bulk of the measure, so far as the
master who supervised them both couldsee. And for
a while he escaped detection. So the. Elephant,
observing the designing fellow as he was cooking
some porridge, picked up with its trunk a mass of sand
at its feet and flung it into the pot, thus adroitly
avenging the treatment it had received at his hands.

unishes
ishonesty

53. Allother Dogs are clever at catching and track- ay Dog in

ing down wild animals; Egyptian Dogs however excel
aes away. ΣΡ ΘΕ ἜΜΕΝ they dread the
creatures in the Nile, thirst compels them to drink,
while their fear does not allow them to drink in peace
as much as they want. For that reason they do not
put their heads down and drink, for fear some crea-
ture from below may creep up and seize them ; and.
so they run along the brink, lapping with their tongue
and snatching or, one might say, positively stealing
their drink.

54. I have already * mentioned many other crafty The
tricks of the Land Echinus (hedgehog), not the Sea

Echinus (sea-urchin), but one specimen of its guile
which I failed to mention I will mention now. When
it is likely to be caught it rolls itself up, which makes
it impossible to handle; moreover it holds its breath
and remains motionless and pretends to be dead.

15

edgehog |

AELIAN

ὅδ. Ai λεπάδες, οὐκ ἂν αὐτὰς ἀποσπάσειας τῶν
πετρῶν, οὐδὲ εἰ λάβοις δακτύλοις {τοῖς 5} τοῦ
Μίλωνος, ὅσπερ οὖν ἐγκρατέστατα καὶ εὐλαβέ-
στατα τὴν ῥοιὰν κατεῖχεν, ὧς μὴ αὐτὴν ἀφελέσθαι

o~ 5 / \ ~ fan “᾿
τῶν ἀντιπάλων τινὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς αὐτοῦ. ὅστις δὲ

ἐπιχειρεῖ λεπάδα ἀποσπάσαι τῆς πέτρας, ἧ προσέ-
χεται, γελᾶται 5. μογῶν καὶ παρέχει ὃ θυμηδίαν.
ἀδυνατεῖ γοῦν ἐγκρατὴς οὗ σπεύδει γενέσθαι.
ξυομένη δὲ σιδήρῳ σχίζεται ἀπὸ τῆς πέτρας ὀψέ.

56. Στρατεύονται δὲ ἄρα οἱ Λίβυες οὐ μόνον
ἐπὶ τοὺς γείτονας, ἵνα αὐτῶν πλέον ἔχωσιν, ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας. ᾿ καὶ ἴσασί γε ἐκεῖνοι τῆς
ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς τὴν ὑπόθεσιν οὐδὲν ἕτερον
εἶναι ἢ τοὺς ὀδόντας. of τοίνυν manpwhérres τὸν
ἕτερον ἐπὶ μετώπου ἑστᾶσι, τῶν λοιπῶν προβαλ-
λομένων «αὐτούς, . ἵνα οἱ μὲν ὑποδέχωνται τὴν
πρώτην ὁρμήν, οἱ δὲ ἀμύνωσιν ἀκεραίῳ τῇ τῶν
ὀδόντων ῥώμῃ καὶ ἰσοπαλεῖ, ἴσως δὲ τῶν Λιβύων 3
καὶ καταφιλοσοφοῦντες καὶ ἐπιδεικνύντες αὐτοῖς
ὅτι apa οὐχ ὑπὲρ μεγάλου τοῦ ἄθλου κινδυνεύ-
σοντες ἤκουσι. χρῶνται δὲ ἄρα τῷ μὲν τῶν
ὀδόντων ὡς ὅπλῳ, καὶ τεθηγμένον αὐτὸν φυλάτ-
τουσι, τῷ δὲ ὡς ομινύῃ: καὶ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ ῥίξας
opvTTovot καὶ δένδρα ἐκμοχλεύσαντες ὑποκλί-
vovow.

57. Ov μόνον δὲ dpa ἦσαν ὑφαντικαὶ αἱ φάλαγ-
Yes καὶ εὔχειρες κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αθηνᾶν τὴν Ἔργάνην

1 ¢rots> add. Η.

2 Reiske: γελᾷ re.
® Reiske: ἔχει. oS

4 Ges: ᾿Ινδῶν.

76

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ota SAREE RIE P BV AL PELE LLM A TENE N LOSSY EAR SER OVE AP ELT EEE LASEESE:

ON ANIMALS, VI. 55-57

55. You would not succeed in dislodging Limpets The Limpet

from the rocks, even were you to grasp them with the
fingers of a Milo® who clung with such strength and
tenacity to a pomegranate-tree that not one of his
opponents could wrench it from his right hand. But
anyone who undertakes to dislodge a Limpet from
the rock to which it is clinging is laughed at for his
pains and affords merriment to others. At all events
it is impossible for him to get what he wants. An
iron saw will at long last detach it from the rock.

56. It appears that the Libyans do not confine The

themselves to waging war upon their neighbours with

a view to gaining an advantage over them, but they hunters

wage war upon Elephants also. And the latter are
well aware that the purpose of their attack is nothing
else than to get their tusks. So those beasts that
have had one tusk mutilated stand in the front line,
the rest of the herd using them as a cover in order
that they may receive the first assault and that the
rest may help with the strength of their tusks un-
damaged and equal to the struggle. And perhaps
they are trying to convince the Libyans and to prove
to them that they are risking their lives for an in-
considerable reward. One of their tusks they use as
a weapon and keep sharpened; the other they use as
a mattock, for with it they dig up roots and lever up
and bend down trees.

57. It seems after all that Spiders are not only The Spider's

dexterous weavers after the manner of Athena the

@ Native of Crotona, 6th cent. B.c., proverbial for his
great strength, gained six Olympic and six Pythian victories
in wrestling.

11

AELIAN

τε καὶ Ἰ]ηνῖτιν θεάν, πεφύκασι 5é1 Kal yewper-
ρίαν δειναί. τὸ γοῦν κέντρον φυλάττουσι καὶ τὸν
ἐξ αὐτοῦ κύκλον καὶ τὴν περιφέρειαν ἀκριβοῦσιν
ἰσχυρῶς, καὶ EdxAeiSou δέονται οὐδὲ ἕν' κάθηνται
γὰρ ἐν τῷ κέντρῳ μέσῳ ἐλλοχῶσαι τὴν ἑαυτῶν
ἄγραν. εἰσὶ " δὲ ὡς ὃ εἰπεῖν καὶ ὑφάντριαι γεν-
ναῖαι καὶ ἀκεστικὴν εὐπάλαμοι: καὶ ὅ τι ἂν
διαρρήξῃς ἐκείνων τῆς εὐπήνου τε καὶ εὐμίτου
σοφίας, αἱ δὲ ἀνακοῦνται, καὶ ἀπαθὲς καὶ ὁλόκλη-
ρον αὖθις ἀποδείκνυνται. 7

58. "Ἄνευ δὲ λογιστικῆς of φοίνικες συμβαλεῖν
ἐτῶν πεντακοσίων ἴσασιν ἀριθμόν, μαθηταὶ φύσεως
τῆς σοφωτάτης ὄντες, καὶ διὰ ταῦτά τοι μηδὲ 4
δακτύλων δεδεημένοι ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς ἐς ἐπιστήμην
ἀριθμητικῆς. ὑπὲρ ὅτου δὲ ἴσασι τοῦτο καὶ
εἰδέναι ἀνάγκη αὐτούς, δημώδης ἐστὶν 6 λόγος.
τὸν δὲ τῶν πεντακοσίων ἐτῶν χρόνον πληρούμενον
ἴσασιν Αἰγυπτίων 7 τις ἢ οὐδείς, ὀλίγοι δὲ κομιδῆ
καὶ οὗτοι τῶν ἱερέων. οὗτοι5᾽ δ᾽ οὖν δ πρὸς
ἀλλήλους ὑπὲρ τούτων οὐ ῥᾳδίως συμβῆναι ἔχου-
σιν, ἀλλὰ οἱ μὲν ἐρεσχελοῦσι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐρίζοντες
ws" od νῦν ἀλλ᾽ ἐς ὕστερον ὅδε 6 θεῖος ὄρνις
ἀφίξεται ἢ ὡς ἐχρῆν ἥκειν: ὃ δὲ ἄλλως ἐκείνων
ἐριξζόντων ἀποσημαίνεται δαιμονίως τὸν καιρὸν
καὶ πάρεστιν. οἱ δέ, θύειν ἀνάγκη αὐτοὺς καὶ

1 πεφύκεσαν δὲ dpa. 2 ἦσαν or ἔστι.
¢ 3
3 ὡς ἰδόντι. 4 μήτε.
5 ral of ; ἢ
καὶ οὗτοι. δ Kaibel: γοῦν mss, H.
7 ἢ ὡς.

78

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ἷ

ON ANIMALS, VI. 57-58

_ Worker and goddess of the Loom, but that they are

by nature clever at geometry.* Thus, they keep to
the centre and fix with the utmost precision the circle
with its boundary based upon it, and have no need of
Euelid,? for they sit at the very middle and lie in wait .
for their prey. And they are, as you might say, most
excellent weavers and adept at repairing their web.
And any thread that you may chance to break of their
skilled and delicate workmanship they repair and
render sound and whole again.

58. The Phoenix knows how to reckon five hundred The Phoenix

years without the aid of arithmetic, for it is a pupil
of all-wise Nature, so that it has no need of fingers or
anything else to aid it in the understanding of num-
bers. The purpose of this knowledge and the need
for it are matters of common report. But hardly a
soul among the Egyptians knows when the five-
hundred-year period is completed; only a very few
know, and they belong to the priestly order. But in
fact the priests. have difficulty in agreeing on these
points, and banter one another and maintain that it
is not now but at some date later than when it was
due that the divine bird will arrive. Meantime
while they are vainly squabbling, the bird miracu~-
lously guesses the period by signs and appears.
And the priests are obliged to give way 5 and confess
that they devote their time ‘to putting the sun to

@ Op. Arist. HA 623 a 7 and D. W. Thompson (Eng. tr.)
ad loc.

> Euclides of Alexandria, the famous geometer, c. 300 B.c.

¢ Lit. ‘to offer sacrifice’; the word is used metaphoric-
ally of one who concedes a point, who admits that something
is due to one in a stronger position than himself. See Headlam
on Herodas 2. 71, Kaibel, Hermes 28 (1893) 538-4.

79

AELIAN

ξ “- ¢ \ 4 Wd > - 7
ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι τὸν μὲν ἥλιον ἐν ταῖς λέσχαις κατα-
7 3; 7 3 yw 4 τ δ
δύειν ἄγουσι σχολήν, οὐκ ἴσασι δὲ ὅσα ὄρνιθες.
> al 7 ὃ \ ~ o 3 7 id 7 --ο
ἐκεῖνα δέ, ὦ πρὸς τῶν θεῶν, οὐ σοφά, εἰδέναι ποῦ
μὲν Αἴγυπτός ἐστι, ποῦ δὲ καὶ “Ἡλίου πόλις, ἔνθα
αὐτῷ πέπρωται ἥκειν, καὶ ὅπου ποτὲ τὸν πατέρα
, 4 4 ? f / o \ >
καταθέσθαι χρὴ Kat ἐν θήκαις τίσι; ταῦτα de εἰ
μὴ δοκεῖ θαυμαστά, dpd γε τὰ ἀγοραῖα καὶ τὰ
ἐνόπλια καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐς ἀλλήλους
τε καὶ κατ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἐπιβουλὰς ἐροῦμεν σοφά;
> 4 \ ? “ Ss - Ἀ ᾽ A
ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ δοκεῖ, ὦ Σισύφων καὶ Kepxwawv καὶ
Τελχίνων ζηλωταὶ ἄνθρωποι. λέγω δὲ πρὸς τοὺς
3 ~ “
ἀκριβοῦντας ταῦτα, πρός γε μὴν τοὺς ἀτελέστους
τοῖς προειρημένοις κακοῖς οὐ λέγω.

59. Τὸ δὲ ἐνθυμηματικὸν 1 καὶ διαλεκτικὸν καὶ
4 Se) TAA ἋἊ 50 € \ 2 3 Α \ ~
τὸ τοῦδε μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦδε αἱρετικὸν * εἰ καὶ τὰ ζῷα
io 3 7 an Ww ὃ ὃ ἦ λ ~ 5A
οἶδεν, εἰκότως ἂν εἴποιμεν διδάσκαλον τῶν ὅλων
4 [4 LA 4 “~ ‘
τὴν φύσιν ἄμαχον. ἐμοὶ γοῦν τις γευσάμενος
“- /
διαλεκτικῆς Kal κυνηγεσίων ἁμωσγέπως ἐχόμενος
τοιαῦτα ἔλεγεν. ἦν θηρατικὴ κύων, ἦ δ᾽ ὃς.
3 ~ \ 9 Ww # ‘ ε \ 3
οὐκοῦν λαγὼ κατ᾽ ἴχνια Yer. καὶ ὁ μὲν οὐχ
ς os ἡ
ἑωρᾶτό πω, μεταθέουσα δὲ ἡ κύων ἐντυγχάνει
᾽ ‘ a Δ Ff > ἃ \ ὦ
που τάφρῳ, καὶ διαπορεῖ Apa γε ἐπὶ δεξιὰ ἄμεινον
ἈΠ ὅν Ad διῶ ἜΘΟΣ: , ge
ἢ ἐπὶ θάτερα διώκειν: ws δ᾽ ἀποχρώντως ἐδόκει
7 > ,
σταθμήσασθαι, εἶτα εὐθύωρον ὑπερεπήδησεν. ὁ
2 Ὁ
φάσκων οὖν διαλεκτικός τε εἶναι καὶ θηρατικὸς

1 ἐνβυμητικόν. 2 Reiske: αἱρετόν.

80

REVEL RLS Ee be AMAL SM PEED EBERT TEENIE

ON ANIMALS, VI. 53-59

rest with their talk’ f[ep. Call. ep. 2 = AP. 7. 80];
but they do not know as much as birds. But, in
God’s name, is it not wise to know where Egypt is
situated, where is Heliopolis whither the bird is
destined to come, and where it must bury its father
and in what kind of coffin?? But if there is nothing
wonderful in all this, are we really to pronounce as
‘ wise’ affairs relating to the market, to armaments,
and men’s other schemes for their mutual undoing?
I think not, you men who rival Sisyphus? and the
Cercopes ¢ and the Telchines.4 I address myself to
those who perfect themselves in these matters, but
not to those who have not been initiated into the
aforesaid abominations.

59. If even animals know how to reason deduc-
tively, understand dialectic, and how to choose one
thing in preference to another, we shall be justified
in asserting that in all subjects Nature is an instruc-
tress without a rival. For example, this was told me
by one who had some experience in dialectic and
was to some degree a devotee of the chase. There
was a Hound, he said, trained to hunt; and so it was
on the track of a hare. And the hare was not yet to
be seen, but the Hound pursuing came upon a ditch
and was puzzled as to whether it had better follow to
the left or to the right. And when it seemed to have
weighed the matter sufficiently, it leapt straight

α See Hdt. 2.73.

ὃ Sisyphus, mythical King of Corinth, became a byword for
deceitfulness and cruelty.

¢ Cercopes, mischievous dwarfs, who robbed Heracles ;
changed by Zeus into monkeys.

2 Telchines, under one aspect, were malignant demons with
the power of changing their shapes.

St

The Dog, its
reasoning

power

AELIAN

ταύτῃ πὴ συνάγειν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν λεχθέντων
ἐπειρᾶτο ἀπόδειξιν. ἐπιστᾶσα ἡ κύων ἐσκοπεῖτο
καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἔλεγεν “row τῇδε ἢ τῇδε ἢ ἐκείνῃ
ὁ λαγὼς ἐτράπετο. οὔτε μὴν τῇδε οὔτε τῇδε:
ἐκείνῃ apa. καὶ οὔ μοι ἐδόκει σοφίζεσθαι: τῶν
γὰρ ixvav μὴ ὁρωμένων ἐπὶ τάδε τῆς τάφρου,
κατελείπετο ὑπερπηδῆσαι τὸν λαγὼν αὐτήν. εἰ-
κότως οὖν ἐπήδησε καὶ αὐτὴ κατ᾽ αὐτόν: ἰχνευ-
τικὴ γὰρ καὶ εὔρινος ἐκείνη 1 ye ἡ κύων ἦν.

60. Μασσαγέται μέν, ὡς ‘Hpddoros λέγει, τὸν
φαρετρεῶνα πρό γε ἑαυτῶν κρεμάσαντες, εἶτα
μέντοι ὁμιλεῖ τῇ θηλείᾳ ὃ ἄρρην ἐμφανῶς, εἰ καὶ
ὁρῷεν αὐτοὺς οἱ πάντες, πεφροντικότες οὐδὲν
ἐκεῖνοί 5 γε. καμήλων δὲ ὁμιλία οὐκ ἄν ποτε
ἐμφανὴς γένοιτο, οὐδὲ ὁρώντων oiovel μαρτύρων."
ἀλλὰ εἴτε αἰδῶ φαμεν εἴτε φύσεως δῶρον ἀπόρ-
ρητον, ταῦτα Δημοκρίτῳ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις
καταλείπωμεν ἐλέγχειν τε καὶ τὰς αἰτίας οἴεσθαι 3
λέγειν ἱκανοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀτεκμάρτων τε καὶ οὐ
συμβλητῶν. ἤδη δὲ καὶ 6 νομεὺς ἀπαλλάττεταί
ποι, ὅταν αἴσθηται τῆς συμφοιτήσεως αὐτοῖς τῆς
πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὴν ὁρμήν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀφιστάμενος
παριοῦσιν ἐς θάλαμον νύμφῃ τε καὶ νυμφίῳ.

“ A ~“
61. Λυκοῦργος δὲ νομοθετεῖ νόμον φιλανθρω-
, id 3 > ~
πότατον, ὡς ἐγῴμαι, θάκων τε Kal ὁδῶν adiora-
“ ?
σθαι τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τοὺς νεωτέρους αἰδοῖ

᾿ ieiske: ἐκεῖνος ἢ ἐκείνη. 2 ἐκείνων.
ὃ. οἴεσθαι del. Η. |
82

CRIA erate ΠΣ Ὁ τ τος τον FREES LEL EET LEICA RIS TTS AL aa ΡΌΜΗΝ :
δῷ

ON ANIMALS, VI. 59-61

across. So the man who professed himself both
dialectician and huntsman essayed to offer the proof
of his statements in the following manner: The
Hound paused and reflected and said to itself: “ The
hare turned either in this direction or in that or went
ahead. It turned neither in this direction nor in
that; therefore it went ahead.’ And in my opinion
he was not being sophistical, for as no tracks were
visible on the near side of the ditch, it remained that
the hare must have jumped over the ditch. 50 the
Hound was quite right also to jump over after it,
for certainty that this particular Hound was good at
tracking and keen-scented.

60. The Massagetae, according to Herodotus
[1. 216], hang up their quivers in front of themselves
and then the man has commerce with the woman
openly, even though all can see, though in fact they
pay no attention. Camels however would never
couple in the open, nor if there were witnesses, so to
say, looking on. But whether we are to call this
modesty or a mysterious gift of Nature, let us leave
it to Democritus and others to decide and suppose
themselves competent to investigate and explain the
causes of matters obscure and past conjecture. And
even the herdsman at once takes himself off when he
realises that the urge to couple is upon them, just as
one withdraws when the bride and bridegroom are
about to enter the marriage-chamber.

61. Lyecurgus laid down a most humane law (as I
think), viz that younger men should give up their

seats to, and leave the path for, their elders out of old age

4 The statement is a travesty of Hdt, 1. 216.
83

AELIAN

χρόνου ἐς ὃν εὔχονται πάντες ἀφικέσθαι, ἐάνπερ
οὖν αὐτοῖς πεπρωμένον τοῦτο δήπου ἧ. πῶς 1 δὲ
ὁ γενναῖος 6 τοῦ Εὐνόμου δύναιτο ἂν τοῖς τῆς
φύσεως νόμοις ἁμιλλᾶσθαί τε καὶ ἀντικρίνεσθαι;
ἐπαΐουσι γοῦν τὸ τῶν ἐλεφάντων γένος, ὦ Λυκοῦρ-
γοί τε καὶ Σόλωνες καὶ Ζάλευκοι καὶ Χαρῶνδαι,
ὧνπερ οὖν ὑμεῖς νομοθετεῖτε οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχήν, καὶ
ὅμως δρῶσι τοιαῦτα, καὶ τροφῆς ἀφίστανται τοῖς
πρεσβυτέροις οἱ νέοι, καὶ γήρᾳ παρειμένους
θεραπεύουσιν αὐτούς, καὶ κινδύνων ῥύονται, καὶ
ἐς ὀρύγματα ἐμπεσόντας οἵδε ἀνάγουσι, φρυγάνων
τινὰς ἀγκαλίδας καὶ φακέλους ἐμβαλόντες, οἷσπερ
οὖν ὡς ἀναβαθμοῖς χρώμενοι ἐκεῖνοι εἶτα ἀνίασι
γήρᾳ βαρεῖς ὄντες. ποῦ Sal? ἠλόησε πληγαῖς
πατέρα ἐλέφας; ποῦ δαὶ ἀπεκήρυξεν ὃ πατὴρ ὃ
ἐν τούτοις τὸν υἱόν; ὑμῖν δὲ ἴσως, ὦ ἄνθρωποι,
δοκῶ λέγειν μύθους τεχνίταις 3 (εἰ τἀληθῇ λέγειν
ἐθέλοιμεν) καὶ ποιηταῖς οὖσι τῶν μύθων τῶν
ἀπιστουμένων. :

62. Φιλοδέσποτον μὲν, ὥς ἐστιν ὃ κύων,
τεκμηριοῖ καὶ τὰ ἤδη λεχθέντα, χρὴ δὲ ἄρα τάτ-
τειν (σὺν) 5 αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐκεῖνό γε δήπου. Γέλων
ὁ Συρακόσιος καθεύδων βαθύτατα ἐδόκει διόβλητος
γεγονέναι. καὶ τὸ μὲν φάσμα ὄνειρος Fy, ἐβόα
δὲ καίτοι καθεύδων ὃ καὶ μάλα γε ὀξείᾳ καὶ
διατόρῳ τῇ φωνῇ. κύων οὖν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ τραφεὶς

L mos °
ποῦ. 2 Reiske: δέ,
5. Schn: τεχνίτας. 4 μὲν οὖν.
5 é
{σύν add. H. δ xabeviwv αὐτός.

84

ON ANIMALS, VI. 61-62

respect for years which all pray they may attain, if
that chance to be their destiny. But how could the
noble son of Eunomus seek to rival and compete with
the laws of Nature? At any rate, you lawgivers, men
like Lycurgus,* Solon, Zaleucus, and Charondas, the
race of Elephants obeys laws which your legislation
does not even begin to touch. For all that, they
behave in the following manner: the young ones
give way to the elders in feeding; they wait upon
those that are weak with age; they guard them
from danger; when they fall into pits the young ones
drag them out by throwing in armfuls, so to say, and
bundles of dry sticks which the elders use as steps and
so climb out, though burdened with age. Where, I
should like to know, did an Elephant ever belabour its
sire with blows? Where, I ask, among Elephants did
a sire ever disinherititsson? But perhaps, my fellow
men, you who(if I am to speak the truth) fabricate and
invent incredible tales, think that I am telling tales.

62. What I have said above ® proves that the Dog Gelon and
certainly loves his master, and so I think I should ™*°

put the following story beside the rest. Gelon of
Syracuse ¢ while fast asleep fancied that he had been
struck by Zeus.? But what he saw was only a dream ;
yet, although asleep he cried aloud and at the top of
his voice. Whereupon a Dog which he kept, hear-

α Lycurgus, son of Eunomus and King of Sparta, perh.
9th cent. B.c., legislator par excellence of Sparta.—Zaleucus,
7th cent. B.c., drew up laws for Locri Epizephyrii.—Charondas
of Catana, perh. 6th cent. B.c., made laws for his city, for
Rhegium and other Chalcidian cities. :

> See ch. 25.

¢ Tyrant of Syracuse, 485-78 B.c. |

@ J.e.by a thunderbolt. The story is repeated in VH 1. 13.

85

EDEN GDR NON 2D E RA RECS IA DOT EBLE BESTA MILLS EP ESESESON IIA ESET TEP ESEL LLL BA BPSEELED ISLET TE LOE LDL ECE SENT RII NS AALS PLL OLY ECON OTE ἘΥ ΤΥ TITTIES

EEDA NUTR
= ΥΣΎΣΣΣ ΣΕΥ

AELIAN

> /

ἀκούσας φίλου καὶ συντρόφου φθέγματος, ὥς τι
“ > 3 -- a“ A

τοῦ DéAwvos ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς παθεῖν κινδυνεύοντος,

e = € ~ > \ :
ws εἶχεν ὁρμῆς ἀναθορὼν ἐπὶ τὴν στρωμνὴν καὶ

περιβὰς τὸν τροφέα, ὑλάκτει σφοδρότατα, οἷα δὴ
ἀμυνούμενος | τὸν ἐπιόντα. ἐξήγρετο τοίνυν 6
Dede καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ δέους καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ὑλακῆς
ἐκβαλὼν τὸν ὕπνον καίτοι βαθύτατον ὄντα.

- 63. Δράκων. νήπιος νηπίῳ παιδί, τὸ γένος
Ἀρκάδι, κἀκεῖνος ἐπιχώριος γίνεται σύντροφος.
οὐκοῦν συνανιόντε 5 τὴν ἡλικίαν 6 παῖς 8 ἢ
μειράκιον καὶ ὁ σύντροφος ὑπέρμεγας ἤδη ἦν.
καὶ ἀλλήλους μὲν ἐφίλουν, οἱ δὲ τῷ μειρακίῳ
προσήκοντες ὠρρώδουν τοῦ θηρίου τὸ μέγεθος"
τὸ γάρ τοι ζῷον τοῦτο, ὥκιστα μεγέθει μὲν
μέγιστον ἴδοις ἂν αὐτό, ὄψει δὲ φοβερώτατον.
καθεύδοντα οὖν σὺν τῷ παιδὶ ἐπί γε τῆς κλίνης
τῆς αὐτῆς ἀράμενοι ὡς ὅτι πορρωτάτω κομίζουσι,
καὶ ὁ μὲν ὑπανέστη ὁ παῖς, ὁ δὲ ἔμεινεν ὁ δράκων.
ὡς δὲ ὕλης ἐλάβετο καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ φαρμάκων τῶν
συμφυῶν, διέτριβεν ἐνταῦθα ταῖς τῶν δρακόντων
τροφαῖς ἡδόμενος καὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν πρὸ τῶν
ἀστικῶν. διατριβῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς δωματίοις
προαιρούμενος ἐκεῖνος. διέρπων δὲ ὁ χρόνος τὸν
μὲν ἀπέφηνε νεανίαν, τὸν δὲ εἰργάσατο δράκοντα
ἤδη τέλειον. καί ποτε δι᾿ ἐρημίας ἰὼν ὁ ᾿Αρκὰς
ὁ τοῦ ζῴου τοῦ προειρημένου ἐραστὴς καὶ ἐρώμενος
λῃσταῖς περιτυγχάνει, καὶ παιόμενος ξίφει οἷα
εἰκὸς ἐβόα, τὰ μὲν ἀλγῶν, τὰ δὲ καὶ συμμάχους
παρακαλῶν. δράκων δὲ ἦν ἄρα ξῴων καὶ ἰδεῖν
᾿ὀξυωπέστατος καὶ ὦκιστος ἀκοήν. οὐκοῦν ἐκεῖ-

1 2 ’ ;
αμυνόομένος. 2 Ουνανίοντε TE OF συνανιόντες .

86

wetter,

ROPER

RAR SALAS CRATE ΡΠ ὙΠ -- 0. LN TTT AMIN ER St TICES ee
.

ON ANIMALS, VI. 62-63

ing the voice of its friend and comrade, as though
Gelon’s life was in danger from a plot, leapt with all
its force on to the bed and stood over its master,
barking furiously, as though it would keep off the
assailant. So Gelon was roused and through fear —
and the noise of barking threw off sleep though it was
of the deepest.

63. A young Snake was brought up along with a
child, an Arcadian born; the snake too was of the
country. So as the pair grew up the child became a
youth while his foster-brother had already become
enormous. And they were devoted to one another.
But the relatives of the youth were terrified at the
size of the monster. (You may see these creatures
attain in a very short time to an enormous size and
the most terrifying aspect.) And so while it was
asleep on the same bed with the boy, they picked it
up and took it as far away as possible. And the boy
rose up, but the Snake remained in that place. And

_ when it took to the forest and the drugs that grew

there, it lived there, enjoying the food of snakes and
preferring waste places to life in a city and confine-
ment in a room. |

Time passed and turned one into a young man, the
other into a Snake now full-grown. And on one
occasion the Arcadian, the lover and the beloved of
the aforesaid creature, going through a lonely region, °
fell in with brigands, and at a blow from a sword he’
cried out, as was natural, both from pain and in order
to summon help. Now it seems that the Snake of all
creatures has the sharpest sight and the keenest

3 4 ξ Pa 4 3 on
καὶ ὁ παῖς. ἀκοῇ.

87

friends boy

AELIAN

Lyd > κ ,ὔ -- 7 : > 7
νος, ATE αὐτῷ συντραφείς, τοῦ φθέγματος ἀκούει,
\ Ἂ 3
καὶ συρίσας ὀξύ, οἷον 1 ὠργισμένος, ἐξέπληξέ τε
> / A ; 7 “~
ἐκείνους, τρόμος τε αὐτοὺς καταλαμβάνει, Kal πᾶν
ov > ΡῈ ὔ Ed Ψ ᾿
ogov ἣν κακοῦργον διασπείρονται ἄλλος ἄλλῃ, καὶ
μέντοι καὶ καταληφθέντας 2 τινὰς οἰκτίστῳ δια-

/ “ ~ :
φθείρει θανάτῳ" τοῦ γε μὴν παλαιοῦ τὰ τραύματα.

καθήρας φίλου καὶ παρ᾽ * ὅσον ἔνθηρον ἣν τοῦ
τόπου ὅ παραπέμψας, ᾧχετο ἀπιὼν ἔνθα αὐτὸν
ἐξέθεσαν, οὔτε μηνίσας ὑπὲρ τῆς ῥίψεως, οὔτε ὡς
οἱ κακοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων περιιδὼν ἐν κινδύνῳ ὄντα
τὸν τέως φίλτατον.

64. Ἢ ἀλώπηξ πονηρὸν ζῷόν ἐστιν, ἔνθεν τοι
καὶ κερδαλέην οἱ ποιηταὶ καλεῖν φιλοῦσιν αὐτήν'
πονηρὸν δὲ καὶ 6 χερσαῖος ἐχῖνός ἐστι. καὶ ὃ μὲν
ἑαυτὸν συνειλήσας κεῖται, θεασάμενος ἥκουσαν
τὴν ἀλώπεκα, ἡ δὲ χανεῖν τε καὶ ἐνδακεῖν οὐ
δυναμένη, κᾷτα οὔρησεν αὐτοῦ ἐς τὸ στόμα: 6 δὲ
ἀποπνίγεται, τοῦ ὃ πνεύματος ἔνδον ἐκ τῆς συνει-
λήσεως κατεσχημένου καὶ ἐπιρρέοντός οἱ τοῦ
προειρημένου, καὶ μέντοι {καὶ τὸν τρόπον τοῦ-
Tov κακὸν κακὴ περιελθοῦσα τὸν ἐχῖνον ἡ ἀλώπηξ
Ld 93 ‘4 > ,ὔ Α ? 7 4)
Ὥρηκεν αὐτὸν. ἀνωτέρω δὲ θήρα λέλεκται ἄλλη.

65. Τ]ερὶ τὸ Κωνώπιον οὕτω καλούμενον (χῶρος
δὲ ἄρα τῆς Μαιώτιδός ἐστι) τοῖς ἀσπαλιευταῖς τε
καὶ θαλαττουῤγοῖς ἀνδράσιν of λύκοι πιστῶς 8
παραμένουσι, καὶ εἰ θεάσαιο, οὐκ ἂν εἴποις αὐτοὺς

1 καὶ οἷον. ᾿ 5 Gall: καταλειφθέντας.

3 + θανάτῳ. 4 Gow: πᾶν Mss, ‘corrupt’ H.
° σοῦ τόπου] Haupt, τοῦτο MSS, ‘ corrupt’ H.

8 καὶ τοῦ.

ON ANIMALS, VI. 63-65

hearing. Accordingly this Snake, being the youth’s
foster-brother, heard his voice and hissing loudly as
in anger, struck terror into the brigands, who were
seized with trembling: the villains were all scattered
in different directions, and what is more, some were
overtaken by the Snake and perished miserably.
But the Snake cleansed the wounds of its old friend,
and after escorting him past that part of the region
where wild beasts lurked, departed and went to the
spot where the relations had exposed it: it showed no
resentment at having been cast away, nor did it in
the hour of danger, like base men, neglect one who
had been its dearest friend.

64. The Fox is a rascally creature, hence poets are
fond of calling it ‘ crafty.” The Hedgehog also is a
rascal, for directly it sees the Fox approaching it rolls
itself into a ball and lies still. And the Fox, unable
to open his jaws and bite it, makes water into its
mouth. And the Hedgehog is suffocated because its
breathing is stopped through its being rolled up and
because of the aforesaid stream. Moreover the Fox
having thus tricked the Hedgehog, one scoundrel
tricking another, catches it out.

I have earlier* described another method of
capture.

65. In the neighbourhood of Conopeum as it is Wolves and

called (it is a district near the Maeotic lake δ) Wolves ᾿
are the faithful companions of the anglers and the
fisherfolk, and were you to see them you would say

@ See ch. 24. ὃ Sea of Azov.

? <nat> add. H. 8 δεινῶς.
89

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, VI. 65

that they were no different from house-dogs. Now
if these Wolves receive a share of the catch from the
sea, there is a treaty of peace between them and the
fishermen. Otherwise the Wolves rip up and destroy
the nets, and for failing to give them a share inflict
this damage upon the fishermen.

κυνῶν οἰκουρούντων διαφέρειν. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ἀπο-
λάχωσι τῆς ἄγρας τῆς θαλαττίου μοίρας οἵδε οἱ
λύκοι, εἰρηναῖα αὐτοῖς “πρὸς τοὺς ἁλιέας καὶ
ἐνσπονδά ἐστιν" εἰ δὲ μή, διαξαίνουσιν αὐτῶν τὰ
δίκτυα καὶ ἀφανίζουσι, καὶ ἔδοσαν ὑπὲρ τῆς
σφετέρας ἀμοιρίας ζημίαν οἱ λύκοι αὐτοῖς.

ου | | ΟΙ

SN A TLE NEE LEMAIRE ALN ICA NBDE

ὶ

BOOK Vii |

Sapte

ee RIE LL eee

"

Ζ

1. Πέπυσμαι δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἀριθμητικῆς τὰς βοῦς
οὐκ ἀμοίρους εἶναι τὰς Σουσίδας. καὶ ὡς οὐκ
ἔστιν ἄλλως κόμπος τὸ εἰρημένον, μάρτυς ὃ λόγος
ὁ λέγων ἐν Σούσοις τῷ βασιλεῖ βοῦς ἐς τοὺς
παραδείσους πολλὰς ἐς τὰ ἧττον ἐπίρρυτα ἀντλεῖν
ἑκάστην κάδους ἑκατόν. οὐκοῦν ἢ τὸν ἐπινησθέντα
αὐταῖς ἢ τὸν συντραφέντα ἐκ πολλοῦ μόχθον
προθυμότατα ἐκτελοῦσι, καὶ οὐκ ἂν βλακεύουσάν
τινα θεάσαιο' εἰ δὲ πέρα τῆς προειρημένης ἕκα-
τοντάδος ἕνα γοῦν προσλιπαρήσειας κάδον ἀνιμή-
σασθαι, οὐ πείσεις οὐδὲ ἀναγκάσεις οὔτε παίων
οὔτε κολακεύων. λέγει Κτησίας.

2. Ὑπὸ τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ "άτλαντος (ὄρος δὲ ἄρα
τοῦτο ὑμνεῖται καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συγγραφέων καὶ
μέντοι καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν) νομαΐί τέ εἰσι
θαυμασταὶ καὶ ὗλαι βαθύταται, καὶ τό γε δάσος
αὐτῶν ἔοικεν ἄλσεσι πάνυ σκιεροῖς καὶ συνηρεφέ-
σιν. ἐνταῦθα δήπου τοὺς ἤδη παλαιοὺς τῶν
ἐλεφάντων φασὶν ἀφικνεῖσθαι, γήρᾳ βαρεῖς ὄντας-
ἄγει δὲ αὐτοὺς ἄρα ἡ φύσις ὥσπερ οὖν ἐς ἀποικίαν,
ἀναπαύσασα 1 ἤδη καὶ οἷον ὅρμον τινὰ καὶ λιμένα
ποθητὸν ἀποφήνασα αὐτοῖς, ὅπου τοῦ βίου τοῦ
σφετέρου τὸ λοιπὸν καταζήσουσιν." ἀνεῖται δὲ
αὐτοῖς “καὶ πηγὴ ποτίμου τε ὕδατος καὶ καθαροῦ
μάλα ἄφθονος, νομίζονταί τε ἱεροί, καὶ ἀφίενται

12 s ᾿
ἀναπαύουσα. 2 καταζῶσιν. 5 ἀφθόνως.

94

eee

BOOK VII

1. I have ascertained that the Cows in Susa are not Cows of

unacquainted even with arithmetic. And that this
is no idle boast the following story bears witness.
In Susa the King has a large number of Cows of
which each one draws one hundred buckets <daily>
to water the drier places in his parks. Now they
perform with the utmost zest the task which has
either been heaped upon them or to which they
have long been accustomed, and you would never
see one of them idling. If however you were
to urge them to draw so much as one bucket-
ful in excess of the century, you will neither
persuade nor compel them, whether by blows or
by soft words, to do so. This is what Ctesias

Says.

9. At the foot of Atlas (this mountain is celebrated
by historians and also by poets) there are marvellous
pasture-lands and forests of the deepest, whose
dense foliage is like that of groves all shady and
over-arched. And that, you know, is where Elephants
are said to resort in old age when heavy with years.
And Nature leads them as it were to a colony, giving
them rest at last and providing them with a desired
anchorage and harbour, so to speak, where they can
live out the rest of their life. And they have a
spring of drinking-water pure and welling up abun-
dantly; and they are regarded as sacred and are
allowed to go unmolested; and they have an agree-

Susa

A home for
aged Ble-
phants

95.

AELIAN

ἄσυλοι, καὶ παρά ye τῶν βαρβάρων τῶν τῇδε
εἰλήφασιν ἐς ἀθηρίαν σπονδάς, ἄδονται τε ὡς
ὑλαίοις τισὶ θεοῖς καὶ ναπαίοις τοῦ χώρου δεσπό-
ταῖς πάνυ μέλονται. διαρρεῖ δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ
ἐκεῖνος 6 λόγος ὡς ἄρα τις τῶν βασιλέων τῶν
ἐπιχωρίων ἐπόθησε διὰ τὸ ὃ κάλλος τῶν ὀδόντων 3
καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἀποκτεῖναί τινας αὐτῶν, ἵνα οἱ
γένηται κτῆμα ἐξαίρετον: εἶναι γὰρ διά τε
πολυετίαν καὶ πλῆθος χρόνου μέγιστον μέγιστα
ἐκείνων τῶν ζῴων ταῦτα τὰ ὅπλα. ὡς δὲ ἐσῆλθεν
ἧδε ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτόν, τριακοσίους λογάδας
ἐξέπεμψε κατακοντιοῦντας * τήνδε τὴν ἱερὰν
ἀγέλην. καὶ ot μὲν ἧ ποδῶν εἶχον διανύσαντες
τὴν ὁδὸν ὡπλισμένοι καὶ δὴ τῷ χωρίῳ προσεπέλα-
ζον, λοιμὸς δὲ αὐτοὺς ἄφνω συλλαβὼν κατέστρωσε,
καὶ πλὴν ἑνὸς ot πάντες ἀπολώλασιν, ὅσπερ οὖν
ἐπανελθὼν τὸ πάθος διηγήσατο τῷ πέμψαντι καὶ
μάλα γε οἴκτιστον. οὕτω μὲν δὴ καὶ θεοφιλεῖς
ἐφωράθησαν ὄντες ἐλέφαντες.

3. Ζῷον ἔστι ἸΤαιονικόν, καὶ κέκληται woven,
καὶ ἔοικε ταύρῳ λασίῳ τὸ μέγεθος. οὗτος οὖν ®
ὅταν διώκηται, ταραττόμενος ἀφίησι πυρῶδες καὶ
δριμὺ ἀποπάτημα, ὡς ἀκούω, ὅπερ οὖν εἰ προσπέ-
σοι τῳ τῶν θηρατῶν ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν.

3 \ >
4. Ἴδιον δὲ ἦν ἄρα ταύρου Kat τὸ εὐπειθές,
[ θ fA 4 3 4 ~ 3 ~ ὦ
Ὥμερω EVTOS TE Καὶ ES TO πρᾶον €K TOV θηριώδους
1 καὶ ᾷδονται.
8 ὀδόντων ἢ κεράτων.
4 Rewske: κατακεντιοῦντας.

2 διά τε.

96

ON ANIMALS, VII. 2-4

ment with the barbarians in those parts that they shall
not be hunted; and it is commonly said that they
are under the care of certain gods of the district who
are lords of wood and valley. And there is a story
current about them, as follows. A certain King of
that country was eager to kill some of them on
account of the splendour and size of their tusks, in
order to obtain a choice possession, for with the multi-
tude of years and the lengthening of time these
weapons of these creatures become enormous.
So when this desire came upon him he despatched
three hundred picked men to shoot this sacred herd.
And all equipped they accomplished their journey
with the utmost speed, and were actually nearing
the spot when a pestilence suddenly seized them and
laid them low: all died save only one, and he re-
turned and rendered to him who had sent them a
full account of the truly lamentable disaster. By
this means it was discovered that the Elephants
were beloved of the gods.

3. There is an animal in Paeonia® called Monops,
and it is the size of a shaggy bull. Now when this
creature is pursued, in its agitation it voids a fiery
and acrid dung, so I am told; and should this happen
to fall on any of the hunters, it kills him.

4. It seems that a special characteristic of the Bull
is its docility, once it has been tamed and from being

ὦ Paeonia, mountainous district N of Macedonia. The
animal was the Aurochs, now extinct. :

5 A 4 λ “-“ ¢ ΠῚ ?
OV OV LOVWTaA Ka Οουσιὶν Ob atoves.

97

VOL. 11. E

The
*‘Monops’

The Bull, its

docility

AELIAN

μεταβαλομένου. μένουσι γοῦν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φερέ-
τρων ἀκίνητοι, εἴτε ὑπτίους αὐτοὺς ἐθέλοις
ἀτρεμεῖν εἴτε ἐπὶ στόμα, ὀκλάσαντας τοὺς προσθί-
ους καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τένοντος φέροντας ἢ παῖδα ἢ

/ 37 ‘ + ~ A > “a
κόρην. ὄψει δὲ dpa ταῦρον Kat ἐπὶ τοῖς νώτοις

γυναῖκα ἄγοντα," καὶ μετέωρον ἑστῶτα ἐπὶ τῶν
κατόπιν σκελῶν, καὶ τὸ πᾶν σῶμα ἐφ᾽ ὅτου δὴ
κούφως ἐρείσαντα. εἶδον δὲ ἐπὶ ταύροις καὶ
ὀρχουμένους καὶ ἀκινήτους ἐκείνους καὶ ἀτρέ-
πτους ἑστῶτας.

5. ‘H γῆ ἢ ; Λίβυσσα “πολλῶν καὶ ποικίλων
θηρίων γόνιμός ἐστι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸ κατώβλεπον
οὕτω καλούμενον καὶ αὐτὸ ἡ αὐτὴ ἔοικε τίκτειν.
καὶ ταύρῳ μέν ἐστι παραπλήσιον ὅσα ἰδεῖν, τὴν δὲ
ὄψιν δοκεῖ βλοσυρώτερον. ὑψηλαὶ μὲν γὰρ αἱ
ὀφρύες αὐτῷ καὶ δασεῖαι, οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ ὑπόκειν-
ae οὐ μάλα τι κατὰ τοὺς τῶν βοῶν μεγάλοι,

ραχύτεροι δὲ καὶ ὕφαιμοι: καὶ ὁρῶσιν οὐκ
εὐθύωρον, ἀλλὰ ἐς τὴν γῆν, ἔνθεν τοι καὶ κέκληται
κατώβλεπον. λόφος δὲ ἄρα ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῆς
κορυφῆς ἀρξάμενος αὐτῷ καὶ ἱππείᾳ τριχὶ παρα-
πλήσιος διὰ τοῦ μετώπου κάτεισι, καὶ τὸ πρόσω-
πόν οἱ καταλαμβάνει, καὶ ἐργάζεται φοβερώτερον
τῷ ἐντυχόντι. σιτεῖται δὲ ἄρα ῥίζας θανατηφό-
ρους. ἐπειδὰν δὲ ὑποβλέψῃ ταυρηδόν, φρίττει μὲν
παραχρῆμα καὶ ἐγείρει τὴν λοφιάν- ὑπανισταμένης
ἐ ἄρα ταύτης καὶ ὀρθουμένης καὶ γυμνουμένων
τῶν περὶ τὸ στόμα χειλέων, ἐκπέμπει διὰ τῆς
φάρυγγος .. 2 ὀξοβαρὲς ἃ καὶ βρωμῶδες, ὡς
1 μεταβαλλομένου. :

: 2 ἄγοντα τὴν Εὐρώπην δή.
9

:

t
Η
Ε
|
t
1

ON ANIMALS, VII. 4-5

savage become gentle. At any rate Bulls remain
quiet when harnessed to litters, or if you want them
to lie still on their back or with their head on the
ground or to sink down on their knees and carry a
boy or a girl on their neck. And you will even see a
Bull bearing a woman on its back or standing erect
on its hind legs while it supports with ease the entire
weight of its body on some object or other. And I
have even seen men dancing on the backs of Bulls,
and the same men motionless there also and standing

undislodged.

5. Libya is the parent of a great number and a The’ Cato-

great variety of wild animals, and moreover it seems
that the same country produces the animal called
the Katoblepon (down-looking).* In appearance it
is about the size of a bull, but it has a more grim.
expression, for its eyebrows are high and shaggy, and
the eyes beneath are not large like those of oxen but
narrower and bloodshot. And they do not look
straight ahead but down on to the ground: that is
why it is called ᾿ down-looking.’ And a mane that
begins on the crown of its head and resembles horse-
hair, falls over its forehead covering its face, which
makes it more terrifying when one meets it. And it
feeds upon poisonous roots. When it glares like a bull
it immediately shudders and raises its mane, and when
this has risen erect and the lips about its mouth are
bared, it emits from its throat pungent? and foul-

@ Generally considered to be the Gnu.
’ Lobeck, Path. 476 ὀξοβαρές = graveolens.

Rt

8 Lacuna: <nvedua> Wellmann.
4 Lobeck: ὀξειοβαρές Mss, H.

99

blepon’

or Gnu

AELIAN “"

καταλαμβάνεσθαι μὲν τὸν ὑπὲρ. κεφαλῆς ἀέρα,
τῶν δὲ ζῴων τὰ πλησιάζοντα ἀναπνέοντα. τοῦτον
κακοῦσθαι σφόδρα, καὶ ἀφωνίαις τέ καὶ ᾿σπασμοῖς
θανατώδεσι περιπίπτειν ἢ συνίησί τε τῆς ἑαῦτου
δυνάμεως ὅδε ὁ θήρ' οἶδε δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ ζῷα,
καὶ ὡς ὅτι πορρωτάτω ἀποδιδράσκει.

6. ᾿Ελεφάντων θήρας ἐ ἐπιστήμονες ἄδουσιν ἡ ἡμῖν,
ὅταν διώκωνται olde οἱ θῆρες, ἄττειν αὐτοὺς καὶ
φέρεσθαι ῥύμῃ 3 ἀμάχῳ ° καὶ ὁρμῇ ἀκατασχέτῳ,
καὶ ἀναστέλλεσθαι ὑπὸ μηδενός, καὶ μέντοι καὶ
διὰ τῶν μεγίστων ἵεσθαι δένδρων οἷον διὰ ληίων,
ὥσπερ οὖν στάχυς τινὰς κατακλῶντας τὰ δένδρα:
καὶ πῇ μὲν τὰ δένδρα. αὐτῶν ᾿ὑπερέστηκε καὶ τὰς
κόμας ὑπερέχει, πῇ δὲ αὐτοὶ τῶν δένδρων εἰσὶν
ὑψηλότεροι.. θέουσι μὲν οὖν ἀνὰ κράτος, καὶ
ὑποτέμνονται ταῖς ὁδοῖς τοὺς διώκοντας, καὶ
εἰκότως" εἰσὶ γὰρ τῶν χωρίων ἠθάδες. καὶ ὅταν
πολὺ ἀποσπάσωσι, καὶ πόρρω τῆς ἵππου τῆς
μετελθούσης “ αὐτοὺς γένωνται, καὶ ἀναθαρρήσω-
σιν ὡς ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ κινδύνου καὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ
γενόμενοι, ἑστᾶσί τε καὶ ἀναπαύονται, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ
δέους φροντίδα. καὶ μάλα ἀσμένως ἐκβάλλοντες.
ἐνταῦθά τοι τοῦ χρόνου καὶ μνήμη τροφῆς αὐτοὺς
ἐσέρχεται" σιτοῦνται δὲ ἀκούω τήν τε σχῖνον
ἀμφιλαφῆ τοῖς δένδροις περιπεφυκυΐαν καὶ κιττὸν
ἄγριον τοῖς φυτοῖς ἐφέρποντα καὶ ὑπέρδασυν καὶ

οινώκων μέντοι τὰς “ἁπαλάς τε καὶ νεαρὰς κόμας
καὶ ἄλλων φυτῶν τοὺς ὅρπηκας καὶ τοὺς πτόρθους

Ν περιπίπτειν, καὶ ἄνθρωπος εἰ παραπέσοι.
5 LAC? ῥώμῃ..
3 ἀμηχάνῳ.
00

Let anes aetnrnn rn 0 ITI AAT AMER

ON ANIMALS, VII. 5-6

smelling <breath>, so that the whole air overhead
is infected, and any animals that approach and inhale

it are grievously afflicted, lose their voice, and are

seized with fatal convulsions. This beast is conscious

of its power; and other animals know it too and flee

from it as far away as they can.

6. Those who are adept at hunting Elephants con-
stantly tell us that when these beasts are pursued
they dash forward and are carried along with
irresistible force and an impetus that nothing can
withstand; there is no stopping them; they even
rush through the largest trees as though they were
standing corn, smashing the trees like corn-stalks.
In one place the trees overtop them and hold
their leaves above them, in another they themselves
are higher than the trees. Indeed they run with all
their might and baffle their pursuers by the course
they take; which is natural, for they are familiar
with the country. And when they have got far
away and are at a great distance ahead of the pursuing
horsemen and have regained their courage through
being secure from danger and feeling free, they pause
and rest and are most glad to lay aside their anxious
fears. And then at this time they bethink them of
food. They feed, so I hear, on the bushy mastic
that grows around @ the trees and the wild i ivy that

The
Hlephant
when hunted

creeps with its dense foliage over them, also upon the:

young and tender leaves of the date-palm and upon
the more sappy shoots and twigs of other plants.
α It looks as if Ael. thought the mastic tree, Pisiacia

lentiscus, which may be anything up to 20 ft. high, was a
parasite like ivy and clung to (περιπεφυκυῖαν) larger trees.

4 μεταθεούσης Cobet. |
ror

AELIAN .

τοὺς ὑγροτέρους. εἰ δὲ of διώκοντες πάλιν προο-
πελάζοιεν, ot δὲ ἐς φυγὴν ἐκτρέπονται αὖθις 1
οἵ γε μὴν διώκοντες αὐλίζονται ἑσπέρας καταλα-
βούσης, καὶ ἐμπρήσαντες τὴν ὕλην εἶτα μέντοι
τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ὀπίσω διατειχίσαντες

3 “A 2 v ὃ ὃ ,ὔ δὲ “~ 3 a κῶν :
αυτοις ΕσΤΉσαν. EOOLKACEL OE TWup Ov βέειον ΤΩ

λεόντων ot ἐλέφαντες.

7. ᾿Αριστοτέλους ἀκούω λέγοντος ὅτι ἄρα γέ-
ρανοι ἐκ τοῦ πελάγους ἐς τὴν γῆν πετόμεναι
χειμῶνος ἀπειλὴν ἰσχυροῦ ὃ ὑποσημαίνουσι τῷ
συνιέντι. πετόμεναι δὲ ἄρα ἡσυχῆ αἱ αὐταὶ
ὑπισχνοῦνται εὐημερίαν τινὰ ὁ καὶ εἰρήνην ἀέρος,
καὶ σιωπῶσαι δὲ ὅτι ἔσται ὃ ὑπεύδια τοὺς οὐκ
ἀπείρως ἔχοντας τῇ σιωπῇ ὑπομιμνήσκουσιν at
αὐταί. ἐὰν δὲ ᾧ καταπέτωνται ὕ 5 καὶ βοῶσι καὶ
ταράττωσί τε καὶ ταράττωνται, ἀπειλοῦσι κἀν-
ταῦθα χειμῶνα ἰσχυρόν. ἐρῳδιὸς δὲ κνεφαῖος
βοῶν τὰ αὐτὰ ἔοικεν ὑποδηλοῦν.7 πετόμενος δὲ
ἐρῳδιὸς τῆς θαλάττης εὐθὺ ὕδωρ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ
ῥαγήσεσθαι αἰνίττεται. εἰ δὲ εἴη χειμέρια, ἄσασα
. γλαῦξ εὐδίαν μαντεύεται καὶ ἡμέραν φαιδράν"
ἐὰν δὲ εὐδία μὲν ἦ, ἡ δὲ ὑποφθέγγηται, χειμῶνα
δεῖ προσδέχεσθαι. κόραξ δὲ ἐπιτρόχως 8 φθεγ-
γόμενος καὶ κρούων τὰς πτέρυγας καὶ κροτῶν
αὐτάς, ὅτι χειμὼν ἔσται κατέγνω πρῶτος. κόραξ
δὲ αὖ καὶ κορώνη καὶ κολοιὸς δείλης ὀψίας εἰ

με

αὖθις καὶ πολὺ ἀποστάντες ἀναπαύονται.
αὐτούς Reiske.

ἰσχυράν. 6

εὐημερίας τινάς.

ἐστίν.

καταπέτωνται ‘corrupt. H, κάτω πέτ- Jac.

ant. & N

I02

ON ANIMALS, VII. 6-7

But if their pursuers again approach, the Elephants
once more take to flight. And so when evening has
overtaken them the pursuers bivouac, and by setting
fire to the forest to some extent cut off the Elephants’
retreat and so bring them to a standstill. For
Elephants no less than lions have a horror of fire.

7. I learn from Aristotle * that cranes flying in to
land from the sea indicate to the intelligent man
that a violent storm is threatening. But if the
same birds are flying tranquilly, that is a promise of
fine weather and a calm atmosphere; and if they
make no sound they are reminding those who have
experience that it will be fairly calm. And if
they <fly in from the sea?) uttering their cries and
confusing their order in their agitation, there again
they are threatening a heavy storm. And if a
shearwater utters its cry at dusk, it apparently
signifies the same; if it flies straight to the sea, it
is giving a hint that a rainstorm will burst from the
sky. If however the weather is stormy, the hooting
of an owl portends fair weather and a bright day;
whereas if the weather is fair and the owl hoots
softly, you must expect storms. If a raven croaks
volubly and pecks and shakes its wings, it is the first
to observe that a storm is coming. Again, if the
raven, the crow, and the jackdaw utter their cries in

* The treatise de Signis tempestatum, on which this section
appears to be based and which was formerly ascribed to
Aristotle, is now counted among the writings of Theophrastus.
See vol. 2 of Sir A. F. Hort’s Theophrastus (Loeb Class, Lib.).

7 ὑποδηλοῦν, ὡς αὐτὸς ᾿Αριστοτέλης φυλάξας λέγει.
8 χαχέως καὶ ἐπιτρόχως.

103

Birds as
weather-
prophets

AEKLIAN 4

φθέγγοιντο, χειμῶνος ἔσεσθαί τινα ἐπιδημίαν
διδάσκουσι. κολοιοὶ δὲ ἱερακίζοντες, ὡς ἐκεῖνος
λέγει, καὶ πετόμενοι πῇ μὲν ἀνωτέρω πῇ δὲ κατω-
τέρω, κρυμὸν καὶ ὑετὸν δηλοῦσι. κορώνη δὲ ἐπὶ
δείπνου ὑποφθεγγομένη ἡσυχῆ, ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν
εὐδίαν παρακαλεῖ. φανέντες δὲ ὄρνιθες πολλοὶ μὲν
τὸν ἀριθμόν, λευκοὶ δὲ τὴν χρόαν, χειμὼν ὅτι ἔσται
πολὺς ἐκδιδάσκουσι. νῆτται δὲ καὶ αἴθυιαι πτερυ-
γίζουσαι πνεῦμα δηλοῦσιν ἰσχυρόν. ὄρνιθες δὲ ἐκ
τοῦ πελάγους ἐς τὴν γῆν σὺν ὁρμῇ πετόμενοι μαρ-
τύρονται χειμῶνα. ἐρίθακος δὲ ἐς τὰ αὔλια καὶ τὰ
οἰκούμενα παριὼν * δῆλός ἐστι χειμῶνος ἐπιδημίαν
ἀποδιδράσκων. ἀλεκτρυόνες γε μὴν καὶ ὄρνιθες οἱ
ἠθάδες πτερυσσόμενοι καὶ φρυαττόμενοι καὶ ὑπο-
τρύζοντες χειμῶνα δηλοῦσιν. ἀπειλοῦσι δὲ 3 πνεῦ-
μα λούμεναί ye* ὄρνιθες, καὶ ἀνέμων τινὰς
ἐμβολὰς ὑποφαίΐνουσι. χειμῶνος δὲ ὄντος ἐς
ἀλλήλους ὄρνιθες πετόμενοι καὶ δι᾿ ἀλλήλων
θέοντες σημαΐνουσιν εὐδίαν. ὄρνιθες δὲ ἀθροι-
ξόμενοι περΐ τε λίμνας καὶ ποταμῶν ὄχθας χειμῶνα
ἐσόμενον οὐκ ἀγνοοῦσι. πάλιν τε ὄρνιθες οἱ μὲν
θαλάττιοι καὶ οἱ λιμναῖοι ἐς τὴν γῆν ἰόντες ὡς
ἔσται ὃ χειμὼν πολὺς οὐκ ἀγνοοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ χερ-
σαῖοι σπεύδοντες ἐς τὰ νοτερὰ εὐδίας ἄγγελοί
εἰσιν, ἐαν μέντοι σιωπῶσιν.

8. Αὐγυπτίων ἀκούω λεγόντων τὸν ὄρυγα συνιέ-
vat τὴν τοῦ Σιειρίου ἐπιτολὴν πρῶτον, καὶ 5
μαρτύρεσθαι τῷ πταρμῷ αὐτήν. νεανιεύονται δὲ
καὶ ot Λίβυες ἀνὰ κράτος φάσκοντες καὶ τὰς αἶγας

1 δείπνῳ. 2 Abresch: περιιών.
| 3 δὲ καί. 4 γε,
104

ON ANIMALS, VII. 7-8

the late afternoon, they teach us that we shall have
avisitation by astorm. Andif jackdaws, as the same
writer says [Thphr. Sig. 16], scream like hawks? and fly
now high now low, they point to frost andrain. Ifa
crow. caws softly at supper-time, it is inviting us to
expect fair weather next day. If birds appear in
great numbers and they are white, it is a certain
indication that there will be heavy storms. When
ducks and shearwaters flap their wings, they point to
violent winds. And when birds come speeding into
land from the sea, this is evidence of stormy weather.
If the robin comes to cattle-sheds and houses, he is
clearly trying to escape from a coming storm.
Cockerels too and domestic fowls, when they flap
their wings and step proudly and cluck, signify
stormy weather. When birds bathe, it is a-sign that
wind is threatening, and it points to gusty weather.
If during a storm birds fly towards one another and
in and out, it is a sign of fine weather. When birds
congregate about meres and on river banks, they
know that.a storm is coming. On the other hand
when birds of the sea and lake come in to land, they
know that there will be a heavy storm, whereas land
birds hastening to moist places are heralds of fine
weather, if, that is, they make no sound. |

8. I have heard that the Egyptians assert that the
antelope is the first creature to know when the
Dog-star rises, and testifies to the fact by sneezing.
The Libyans are equally bold in stoutly maintaining

@ Or ‘ hover like hawks’? (Hort ad loc.)

δ. ἔσουτο ΟΥ̓ ἐσεῦται. 6 καὶ τὴν ἐπιτολὴν.
7 αὐτόν.

τος

Animals as
weather-
prophets

ST SEA ONT E

AELIAN

. 93». 3 «ὦ ὃ , ‘ 393. 3. , a
παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς προειδέναι τὸ αὐτὸ δήπου τοῦτο.
Ὁ \ A 7 on
αὗται μὲν καὶ μέλλοντα ὑετὸν προδηλοῦσιν.

3 Ἀ A , ~ “"
ἐπειδὰν γὰρ προέλθωσι τῶν σηκῶν, δρόμῳ καὶ
7 ᾽ ξ - sg
μάλα γε ὦκιστα ὁρμῶσιν ἐπὶ τὸν χιλόν- εἶτα
΄- ¢ χ -
ἐμπλησθεῖσαι αὑτὰς ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἐς τὰ οἰκεῖα,
A c «A > “a 3 “-
καὶ ὁρῶσαι ἐκεῖσε ἀτρεμοῦσι,3)2 τὸν ποιμένα
3 , 4 Ἃ
ἀναμένουσαι, ἵνα τὴν ταχίστην συνελάσῃ αὐτάς.
.ν x a) - od
καὶ Ἵππαρχος μὲν ἐπὶ “ἱέρωνος ὃ τοῦ τυράννου
7 3 ,ὔ - 5
καθήμενος ἐν θεάτρῳ καὶ φορῶν διφθέραν, ὅτι τὸν
f ~ > “~ :
μέλλοντα χειμῶνα ἐκ τῆς παρούσης αἰθρίας
f af?
προηπίστατο ἐξέπληξε: καὶ ἐθαύμαζεν “Ἱέρων 3
> # \ “-“ a -
αὐτόν, καὶ Νικαεῦσι τοῖς Βιθυνοῖς συνήδετο᾽ ὅτι
am | 7 At ἢ 3 3 i 4
ππάρχου πολίτου ἔτυχον: ἐν ᾿Ολυμπίᾳ δὲ
, 3 ΄ \
θεώμενον ᾿Αναξαγόραν ἐν διφθέρᾳ καὶ αὐτὸν τὰ
3 ? 3 ? fo ἕξ ζ ~
Ολύμπια ἐπιρραγέντος ὑετοῦ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν πᾶν
> A 7 “᾿
δεν, καὶ θειότερα νοεῖν ἢ κατὰ τὴν θνητὴν φύσιν
> f Ld λ ~
ἐκόμπαξεν. ὅτι δὲ βοῦς, ἐὰν μέλλῃ ὕειν ὁ Ζεύς,
> \ \ ? é A 4
ἐπὶ τὸ ἰσχίον τὸ δεξιὸν κατακλίνεται, ἐὰν δὲ εὐδία,
iA > V 4 > ld θ 7 ww wv 3 ,ὔ 4
πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ λαιόν, θαυμάζει ἤ τις ἢ οὐδείς. καὶ
> - \ 7 “ ~
ἐκεῖνα δὲ προσακήκοα ἐκπλῆξαι ἱκανά. βοῦς ἐὰν
~ \ 3 /
βοᾷ καὶ dodpaivntat,* ὕειν ἀνάγκη. ἄδην δὲ βόες
A ? ”~ Ld ~ με
καὶ πέρα τοῦ ἔθους ἐσθίοντες δηλοῦσι χειμῶνα.
7 A > # A - on
πρόβατα δὲ ὀρύττοντα ταῖς ὁπλαῖς τὴν γῆν ἔοικε
? ~
σημαίνειν χειμῶνα, ἀναβαινόμενα δὲ τὰ αὐτὰ
Α ᾽ ἴω ε -"
πρωὶ πρώιον ὃ χειμῶνα ὁμολογεῖ. κοιμώμεναι δὲ
1 Perh. δέ or μέντοι H.
2 οὕτω νέμονται.
3 Valesius: Νέρωνος. . . Νέρων.
4 Schn: ὀσφραίνηται τῆς γῆς.
5 πρωὶ πρώιον] Schn: πώεα.

α Hipparchus of Nicaea, famous astronomer, 2nd cent.
B.C.

106

ON ANIMALS, VII. ὃ

that in their country the goats also know in advance ;
they also give clear signs of impending rain. For
when they emerge from their pens they rush at full
speed to their fodder. Later, when satisfied, they
turn towards home, and facing in that direction
remain still and wait for the herdsman to gather them
in as quickly as possible.

And Hipparchus? in the reign of Hiero the
Tyrant ὃ was sitting in the theatre wearing a leathern
jerkin, and astonished people by knowing in advance
out of the clear weather then prevalent that a storm
was coming. And Hiero in his admiration of the man
congratulated the people of Nicaea in Bithynia on
having Hipparchus as a citizen. And when at
Olympia Anaxagoras,’ likewise clad in a leathern |
jerkin, was watching the Olympic Games and a storm
of rain burst, all Hellas sang his praises, and claimed
that his wisdom was more that of a god than of a
man. And few if any are surprised that an ox, if
rain threatens, lies down on his right side, contrari-
wise if fair weather is coming, on his left. And I
have also heard the following facts which are cal-
culated to astonish one. If an ox bellows and sniffs
the air, rain is inevitable. And if oxen eat copiously
and more than is their custom, it portends a storm.
When sheep dig the ground with their hoofs, it is
likely to mean a storm ; and if the rams mount them
early in the day, it promises an early storm; and the

> No ‘Tyrant’ of this name is known to have lived in the
2nd cent. B.C.

¢ Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, 5th cent. B.C., taught that
physical phenomena were due to natural causes. His doc-
trines were regarded as impious and he was forced to quit
Athens.

107

aubrey OAR TT

AELIAN

ἀθρόαι at αἶγες τὰ αὐτὰ ὁμολογοῦσιν. ὕες δὲ ἐν
τοῖς ἀρώμασι 1 φαινόμεναι ὑετοῦ φυγὴν διδάσκου-
σιν. ἄρνες δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἔριφοι ἀλλήλοις ἐμπηδῶντές
τε καὶ ὑποσκιρτῶντες φαιδρὰν ἡμέραν ὁμολογοῦ-
σιν. γαλαῖ δὲ ὑποτρίζουσαι καὶ μύες ἐκείναις
ὁρῶντες τὰ αὐτὰ χειμῶνα ἔσεσθαι συμβάλλονται
ἰσχυρόν. λύκοι δὲ φεύγοντες ἐρημίας καὶ εὐθὺ τῶν
οἰκουμένων ἰόντες χειμῶνος ἐμβολὴν μέλλοντος
ὅτι πεφρίκασι μαρτυροῦσι δι᾽ ὧν δρῶσι. λέοντος
δὲ ἐν τοῖς καρπίμοις χωρίοις ἐπιδημία αὐχμὸν
δηλοῖ. σκιρτῶντά <ye>? μὴν τὰ ὑποζύγια καὶ
βοῶντα τοῦ ἔθους μᾶλλον νοτερὸν χειμῶνα ἐσόμε-
νον δηλοῖ: εἰ δὲ καὶ ταῖς ὁπλαῖς κόνιν προσανα-
βάλλοι, ταὐτὰ ταῦτα δηλοῖ που. λαγῷ δὲ ἐν τοῖς
αὐτοῖς χωρίοις ὁρώμενοι πολλοὶ δηλοῦσιν εὐδίαν.
πάντων δὲ τούτων ἀπολείπονται οὗ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ
ἰσασιν αὐτὰ ὅταν γένηται.3

9. ἹἹεράκων πέρι καὶ ταῦτα προσακήκοα. of
τοῦ ᾿Απόλλωνος ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ θεραπευταὶ
λέγουσι καλεῖσθαί τινὰς οὕτως ἱερακοβοσκούς,
οἵπερ οὖν εἰσι τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ. ἱεράκων τροφεῖς τε
καὶ μελεδωνοὶ μέντοι οἵ αὐτοί. πᾶν μὲν οὖν τὸ
φῦλον * ἀνεῖται τῷ θεῷ τῷδε, ἤδη δέ τινες ἐκεῖθι
καὶ ἱεροὶ τρέφονται τροφῇ πεφροντισμένῃ, καὶ
δοκοῦσι τῶν ἀναθημάτων διαφέρειν οὐδὲ ἕν. οἱ
τοίνυν τὴν τούτων ἐγκεχειρισμένοι κομιδὴν πρὸς
τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας λέγουσιν ἐν ταῖς νεοττιαῖς éxao-
τους (ἐν ἄλσει γὰρ ἱερῷ τρέφονται) ὅ τίκτειν"

2 <ve> add. Η.

* τὸ τῶν ὀρνίθων φῦλον.

12.2
ἀρόμασι.
3 γένωνται.

τοῦ

ON ANIMALS, VII. 3-9

same when goats lie huddled together. When pigs
appear in cornland, they inform us that the rain is
departing. Now when lambs and kids leap on one
another and frisk about, they promise a bright day.
But when martens squeak and mice likewise, they
are conjecturing that there will be a violent storm.
When wolves quit lonely places and make straight
for inhabited districts, they show thereby that they
dread the onslaught of a coming storm. If a lion
visits cornlands, it presages a drought. And if beasts
of burden gambol and low more than is their custom,
it shows that storm and rain are on their way; and
if besides, they toss up the dust with their hoofs, it
signifies the same. If hares are seen in great
numbers in the same places, it signifies fair weather,
In all these matters men fall behind: they only
know these changes when they occur.

9. Here are further facts which I have heard
touching Hawks. The ministers of Apollo* in
Egypt say that there are certain men called ἡ hawk-
keepers’ for this reason: they feed and tend the
Hawks belonging to the god. Now the whole racé
of Hawks is consecrated to this god, but there are
certain sacred birds which are fed upon carefully pre-
pared food and which seem in nowise to differ from
offerings made to the god. Now the men who have
been charged with the care of these birds tell the
uninformed that each of them (they are tended in a

α T.e. Horus; cp. NA 10. 14.

5 ἐν ἄλσει. . . τρέφονται Jac would transpose to follow διαφέρειν
οὐδὲ ἕν. !
109

The Hawk
in Heypt

AELIAN

ἐόμολογεϊῖσθαι δὲ τὴν ἄλλων μέν, ἐκ τούτων δὲ ἔτι
καὶ ᾿ μᾶλλον. τοῖς δὲ ἀρτιγενέσι προβάλλουσιν
ὀρνίθων τεθηραμένων ἐξῃρημένους τοὺς ἐγκεφά-
λους, τροφὴν ἁπαλὴν νεοττοῖς ὑγροῖς: τοῖς γε μὴν

fi oe 3

λ 7ὔ Ω i θέ 7 v4 εν
TEAELOLS OVOEL TOAPAaTt €Qaot CapKas TE Καὶ vas,

ὅσα ἰσχυρὰν τροφὴν ὄρνισιν ἁρπακτικοῖς ἐργάζε-
ται: τοῖς δὲ ἐν μεθορίῳ τῶν ἀρτιγενῶν καὶ τῶν
ἤδη τελείων καρδίαι παράκεινται,3 καὶ τούτων
λείψανα ὅρᾶται. καὶ ἥ γε διαφορότης ἡ προει-
ρημένη τῆς τροφῆς ὁμολογεῖ ὅτι TO. ἁρμόττον
ἡλικίᾳ ἑκάστῃ καὶ πρόσφορον ἴσασιν οὗ ἱέρακες
καὶ μάλα γε ἀκριβοῦσι τοῦτο, καὶ τῆς παρ᾽
ἡλικίαν τροφῆς οὐκ ἂν ἅψαιντο. καθ᾽ ὥραν δὲ
ἄρα καὶ ὀρτύγων αὐτοῖς ἐπιδημίαι γίνονται, καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων ὀρνίθων ἐπιφοιτῶσιν ἀγέλαι, καὶ
ἔχουσί ye οἵ * ἱεροὶ ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν θοίνην.

ON ANIMALS, VII. 9-τὸ

sacred grove) lays eggs in its nest.¢ They have,
it is true, the care of all Hawks, but these sacred
ones are their special charge.” They take out the
brains of birds which have been caught and throw
them to the newly born Hawks: soft food for
tender chicks. But to those that are full-grown
the keepers serve flesh and sinews, which furnish
strengthening nourishment for birds of prey. Those
however that are in the intermediate stage between
chicks and full-grown birds are served with the
hearts,¢ and one may see the remains of them. So
the aforesaid difference of foods concedes the point
that Hawks know what is appropriate and agreeable
to each age; and they are particular about it and
would never touch food unsuited to their age. At
a certain season quails visit their country and other
birds arrive in flocks, and these sacred Hawks feast
on them also.

~ 3 Α
10. Κυνῶν ἐς τοὺς τρέφοντας αὐτοὺς ἄμαχον
3) 6 “~ “~ -
εὔνοιαν ὁμολογεῖ καὶ ἐκεῖνο δήπου. ἔν τινι τῶν

ἐμφύλων πολέμων ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ ἈΚάλβου τοῦ

10. The following story, I think, also affords The Dog's _
evidence of the unbreakable affection which Dogs {"naster:

have for those who keep them. In one of the civil Galba’s dog

“Ῥωμαίου σφαγέντος, οὐδεὶς μέντοι τῶν ἐχθρῶν
τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἠδυνήθη τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτεμεῖν,
καίτοι μυρίων ἀγώνισμα τιθεμένων σφίσι καὶ
καλλώπισμα τοῦτο, πρὶν ἢ τὸν παρεστῶτά οἱ
κύνα ἀποκτεῖναι ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ ὅ τραφέντα καὶ μέντοι

La o~ “w
1 ὁμολογεῖσθαι. . . μᾶλλον corrupt.
- ‘
2 Priller: καὶ κρέα καί.
3 κεῖνται.
4 ἔν ν 5 3 ~
χουσιν οἵ γε. αὐτοῦ.

* The sentence appears pointless and perhaps there is a
lacuna at the end.

Στὸ

wars at Rome when Galba the Roman was mur-
dered,? there was not one of the man’s enemies that
was able to cut off his head, although countless
numbers competed for this trophy, until they .had
killed the Hound at his side that had been reared
under his care and that maintained its affection with
the utmost loyalty and fought on behalf of its dead
master, as though it were a fellow soldier, sharer of

> The text is uncertain, and the translation provisional.

¢ But see NA 2. 42.

ἃ This seems. to be the Galba who was Roman Emperor for.
six months, a.D. 68, and was murdered by his soldiers, Cp.
Suet. Galba 20. 2 and Mooney’s note ad loc. |

111

AELIAN

Kal τὴν εὔνοιάν ot πιστότατα ἀποσώζοντα. καὶ
ὑπερμαχοῦντα τοῦ κειμένου, ὥσπερ οὖν συστρα-
τιώτην τε καὶ σύσκηνον ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἐς τὰ ἔσχατα
φίλον. οἷον δ᾽ αὖ καὶ τόδ᾽ ἔρεξεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ μὰ
Δία, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθὸς κύων καὶ τὴν γνώμην καρτέρός,
μαθεῖν ἄξιον. ὁ ᾿Ηπειρώτης Πύρρος ὡὠὡδοιπόρει,
εἶτα μέντοι περιτυγχάνει νεκρῷ πεφονευμένου,1
καὶ κυνὲ παρεστῶτι καὶ μέντοι καὶ φρουροῦντι τὸν
δεσπότην, ἵνα μὴ πρὸς τῷ φόνῳ καὶ τῷ νεκρῷ
λυμήνηταί τις. ἔτυχε δὲ ἄρα τρίτην ἔχων ὁ
κύων ἀπόσιτος τὴν ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τῇ φιλοπόνῳ καὶ
καρτερικωτάτῃ φρουρᾷ. ὅπερ οὖν διδαχθεὶς ὁ
Πύρρος τὸν μὲν ᾧκτειρε καὶ ταφῆς ἠξίωσε, τόν
γε μὴν κύνα προσέταξε τυχεῖν κηδεμονίας, καὶ
ἐδίδου ὅσα κυνί ὀρέγεται 5 ἐκ χειρός, καὶ μάλα
γε ἱκανὰ καὶ ἐφολκὰ ἐς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φιλίαν τέ καὶ
εὔνοιαν, κατὰ μικρὰ ὑπάγων τὸν κύνα ὁ Iluppos.
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐς τοσοῦτον. εἶτα μέντοι οὐ μετὰ
“μακρὸν ἐξέτασις ὁπλιτῶν ἦν, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὃν
προεῖπον ἐθεᾶτο, καί of παρῆν ἐκεῖνος ὁ κύων,
καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἑαυτὸν σιγῇ κατεῖχε καὶ πραό-
τατος Hv ἐπεὶ δὲ ἄρα τοὺς τοῦ δεσπότου φονέας
ἐν τῇ τῶν στρατιωτῶν εἶδεν ἐξετάσει, 6 δὲ οὐκ
ἐκαρτέρησεν ἐνταῦθα ἀτρεμεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἐς αὐτοὺς
ἐπήδα καὶ ὑλάκτει ἀμύσσων τοῖς ὄνυξι, καὶ ἐς
τὸν Πύρρον θαμὰ μ ἐπιστρεφόμενος ὡς οἷός τε ἦν
ἐπήγετο μάρτυρα ὅτι ἄρα τοὺς ἀνδροφόνους ἔχει.
οὐκοῦν ὑπόνοια ἐσέρχεται καὶ τὸν βασιλέα καὶ
τοὺς περιεστῶτας αὐτόν, καὶ ποιοῦνται ἐνθύμιον
τὴν τοῦ κυνὸς ὑλακὴν τὴν ἐς τοὺς προειρημένους.
καὶ συλληφθέντες στρεβλοῦνται, καὶ κατεῖπον ὅσα

ΕΣ 1 πεφονευμένῳ. 2 παρόντι.
112

συσελγφενν. tachesis,

ἘᾺΝ este oe EBSA" pit SNA ων RULE RE SUSIE MERE EDEL SSRIS DATEL ρρτονρινε είν wideeteer

> ah Roe Licey EGET CAEN FATED PTL EL BEET EBON OLIN τ ον τ ee Ol cd lala Sacer
a Wee
ἘΝ ΤῊΣ

ON ANIMALS, VII. τὸ

the same tent, and friend to the very last. It is
worth knowing ‘ what a deed was this, wrought ᾿ not
‘by a man’ [Hom. Od. 4. 242], I declare, but by a
faithful Hound of valiant spirit.

Pyrrhus of Epirus was on a journey when he came
upon the corpse of a man who had been killed, with
his Dog standing beside and guarding its master to
prevent anybody from adding outrage to murder.
Now it happened that this was the third day for which
the Dog was keeping its assiduous and most patient
watch, unfed. And so when Pyrrhus learnt this he
took pity on the dead man and ordered him to be
buried; but as for the Dog, he directed that it should
be cared for and gave it whatever one offers a dog
with one’s hand, in sufficient quantity and of a
nature to induce it to be friendly and well-disposed
towards him; and little by little Pyrrhus drew the
Dog away. So much then for that. Now not so
long after, there was a review of the hoplites, and the
King whom I mentioned above was looking on, and.
that same Dog was at his side. For most of the time
it remained silent and completely gentle. But
directly it saw the murderers of its master in the
review, it could not contain itself or remain where
it was, but leaped upon them, barking and tearing
them with its claws, and by frequently turning
towards Pyrrhus did its best to make him see that it
had caught the murderers. And so a suspicion
dawned upon the King and those about him, and the
way in which the Dog barked at the aforesaid men
caused them to reflect. The men were seized and
put on the rack and confessed their crime.

eee

8 Jac: dpa.

113

AELIAN

3 sr 4 ὃ ~ 1 50 ~ ~ 1
ἐτόλμησαν. καὶ δοκεῖ μὲν μῦθος ταῦτα τοῖς
ef 4 ¢ i 4 i mn 5 »“» 4
ὅσοι Διὸς ἑταιρείου καὶ φιλίου τοῦ αὐτοῦ θεσμὸν
7 ~ 7 ὶ 4
πατήσαντες εἶτα μέντοι ζῶντας προύδοσαν τοὺς
é 4 $ ? 3 A 4 > ff “~
φίλους καὶ ἀποθανόντας" ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ πείθομαι τοῖς
“-- ~ 4 font fa 7 oe ‘i > >
νοοῦσι κακῶς τὰ τῆς φύσεως καλά, ἥπερ οὖν εἰ
τοῖς ἀλόγοις μετέδωκεν εὐνοίας τε καὶ στοργῆς,
πάντως που καὶ τῷδε τῷ ζῴῳ τῷ λογικῷ μετέ-
δωκε μᾶλλον. ἀλλὰ οὐ χρῶνται τῷ δώρῳ. καὶ
é ~ 4 4 > , g ͵ 3 ¢ 4
τί δεῖ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐπιλέγειν ὁπόσα ἄνθρωποι ὑπέρ
τοῦ πονηροῦ κέρδους κακὰ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν φίλους
εἰργάσαντο, ἐπιβουλὰς pamrovres καὶ προδιδόντες ;
ὡς ἐμέ γε ἀλγεῖν εἴπερ οὖν ἀνθρώπων πιστότερος

ΤΌΣ Χ 2). aN DD , 3
KGL EVVOVOTEPOS ΕΛΉΛΕΥΚΤΟαΙυ © κυῶν.

11. Πολύποδος ἐς οὖς ἐμὸν καὶ ἐκεῖνο ἧκεν. ἦν

4 f 4 5 4 Ww ὃ 4
πέτρα προήκουσα μέν, οὐ μὴν ἄγαν ὑψηλή.
οὐκοῦν πολύπους ποτὲ ἀνερπύσας εἶτα ἥπλωσε

Ἁ 7 4 7 2 lA φ 7
Tas πλεκτάνας, καὶ μάλα ye ἀσμένως ὑπεθάλπετο
(καὶ γὰρ οὖν καὶ χειμέρια ἐδόκει πως), οὐ μὴν
ἑαυτὸν ἐς τὴν χρόαν τῆς πέτρας ἐκτρέψας ἤδη ἢν.

f ὃ τ Ψ ὃ “~ ~ ¢ Xr 7 ὃ Ἁ 4 3
πεφύκασι δὲ ἄρα δρᾶν τοῦτο οἱ πολύποδες τὰς * ἐς
¢ 4 > 4 / 4 ,ὔ 4
ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιβουλὰς φυλαττόμενοι καὶ μέντοι καὶ

> " A 3 “-ἅ- 3 ~ IQ ἃ 3S 7k ,
αὐτοὶ τοὺς ἰχθῦς ἐλλοχῶντες. ἰδὼν οὖν ὀξὺ μέν,
¢ ~ ὃ i 3 > θ 4 4 θ “ > 7 e 5
ἑαυτῷ δὲ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν τὸ θήραμα ἀετός, ὡς
ξ o~ ~ ~ ~
ὁρμῆς τε ἅμα καὶ πτερῶν εἶχεν ἐμπηδᾷ τῷ
πολύποδι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ δεῖπνον ἕξειν ἕτοιμον
ς ~ “a a“ “~
ἑαυτῷ TE καὶ τοῖς παισὶ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ κατέγραφεν.

λ 4 ὃ \ 3» 2 ? 6 ‘4 “~
πλόκαμον δὲ apa ἐκείνου ὃ περιβάλλουσι τῷ
? “~ ΄“"“ ;
ἀετῷ σφᾶς αὐτούς, καὶ ἀπρὶξ ἐχόμενοι εἶτα
Ι14

ἐ
3
3
5
3
ξ
Η
é
ὲ

τ ν pc AARNE REO EAA LEE beste ALITA fy Ac

|
|

ἜΝ δ}
ἘΠΕ

ON ANIMALS, VII. τοῦτ

To those who trample upon the ordinance of Zeus
the god of fellowship and of affection and betray
their friends in life and after death, all this seems a
mere tale. But for my part I do not follow those
who fail to appreciate the excellence of Nature
which, if she has given brutes a share of kindliness
and affection, has certainly given a larger share to
us rational beings. But they make no use of her gift.
And what need is there to add to my story all the
other crimes which men have committed against
their friends for the sake of base gain, hatching plots
and acting the traitor? It fills me with pain that a
Dog should be shown to have more loyalty, more
kindly feeling than man.

11. Here is another story which has come to my Octopus and

ears: itis about the Octopus. There was a rock rising
from the sea, though not to a great height. Now
once upon a time an Octopus crawled up it and
spread out its tentacles and was glad to warm itself
(the weather was inclined to be stormy), though it
did not at once assume the colour of the rock.
Octopuses do this naturally, to protect themselves
against those who have designs upon them, and also
that they themselves may ambush fishes. Now an
RKagle, quick to mark its prey (though it got no good
thereby), swooped with all the force of its wings
upon the Octopus, reckoning to secure a ready meal
for itself and its young. But the creature’s tentacles
wreathed themselves round the Eagle, and clinging
fast to its hated enemy dragged it down, and it was

1 τοῖς ἄλλοις. 2 ἐλήλεγκται καί.

3 Reiske: xdwv ὦν. ἃ καὶ τάς.

δ σ᾽ Ἂν 6 7 θ , > 7
ὥσπερ οὖν. ἰχθύος ἐκεΐνου.

115

AELIAN

ἃ Ἁ /
ἕλκουσι κάτω τὸν ἔχθιστον, καὶ χανὼν λύκος ὡς
‘ ? / ων 7
ἂν εἴποις εἶτα μέντοι νεκρὸς ἐπενήχετο τῇ θαλάττῃ

¢ 3 A ξ 4 ~ ὃ , 7 \ δὴ ~ .
ὁ ἀετὸς UTEP TOU δείπνου. μυρία μὲν δὴ τοιαῦτα

7 + θ ᾿ λ / ὃ \ of θ 7 2 ὃ |
πάσχουσιν ὄρνιθες, πλείω δὲ ἀνθρωποι: ἐν ὃὲ

a 3 f ey? ¢€ , ea ᾿ς
τοῖς ἀδομένοις ὑφ᾽ Ἡροδότου Μασσαγέταις ὁ
Καμβύσου Képos 6 ἕτερος καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἸΙολυ-
κράτης ἐς ᾿Οροίτου σπεύσας ὡς τὸν χρυσὸν
ἁρπασόμενος καὶ ἄλλος

ta \ ¢ ?
τεύχων WS ETEPW TIS ἐῷ κακὸν ἡπατι τεύχει.

4 ἴω. \ + = \ 2) + Ἂ >
Kal ταῦτα μὲν οὐκ olde τὰ ἄλογα, ἄνθρωποι δὲ εἰ-
δότες 1 οὐ φυλάττονται. καὶ τί δεῖ γλώττης καὶ
λόγων καὶ διδασκάλων καὶ πληγῶν, ὦ Κῦρε καὶ
Πολύκρατες; τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἐῶ: τί γάρ μοι

- " > / ϊ é \ ?
κωφοῖς Kat ἀνοήτοις συμβουλεύειν τὰ λυσιτελέ-
στατα;

i -
12. Μέγα φρονείτωσαν 3 αἱ ἸΙαιονίδες γυναῖκες
καὶ τὸ φρύαγμα αἰρέτωσαν δρῶσαι τὰ ὑμνούμενα.
; ~ “ ~ 7
ἔστι δὲ τοιαῦταϑὲ τῇ μὲν κεφαλῇ φέρουσιν
: 5 ,
ὑδρίαν μεστὴν ὕδατος, καὶ τὸν αὐχένα ἀνέστησαν,
- 2 lal
ὥστε αὐταῖς Badilovoais ἄτρεπτόν τε καὶ ἀκλινῆ
διαμένειν τὴν ὑδρίαν: ἐξαρτήσασαι δὲ τοῦ κόλπου
7 Ἁ ? 4 > 4 ? A
θηλάζουσι τὰ βρέφη, Kat ἐς τὸν βραχίονα τὸν
“ ~ 7 >
ῥυτῆρα ἐνάψασαι τὸν τοῦ γήμαντος ἵππον ἐς
“" “~ ,ὔ
ἀρδείαν ἄγουσι, καὶ ταῖς χερσὶ νῶσι Λίνον.
1 οἱ εἰδότες.
2 Jac: νῦν (or μὴ νῦν) φρονείτωσαν.
3 σαῦτα.

« The proverb took its origin from Aisop’s fable (223, ed.
Chambry) of the hungry wolf who overhears a mother

116

ON ANIMALS, VII. 11-12

a case of ‘The hungry wolf,’* as you might say.
And presently the Eagle was floating dead upon the
sea for the sake of its meal. Birds in fact suffer
countless misadventures of this kind, and men even
more: for example, Cyrus the Second, the son of
Cambyses,? among the Massagetae celebrated by
Herodotus [1. 214]; Polycrates*® also [ed. 3. 125]
who hastened to Oroetes with the intention of laying
hands on his gold, and any who

‘ working for another’s ill, wreaks ill for his own
heart.’ [ Anon. ]

Brute beasts do not realise these dangers; human
beings do, but fail to guard against them. What use
to you, Cyrus and Polycrates, were a tongue, speech,
teachers, beatings? I say nothing of the others,
for why should I give the most profitable advice to
men who are deaf and senseless ?

12. Let the women of Paeonia be proud: let
them assume arrogant airs, since their conduct is
celebrated. This is what they do: on their head
they carry a vessel full of water, their neck held
straight so that as they walk the vessel shall remain
erect without upsetting. They attach their children
to their breast before suckling them; and fastening
the rein of their husband’s horse to one arm lead it to
drink, while they use their hands to spin thread. It

threatening to give her child to the wolf unless it stops crying.
Later she says to the child, ‘If the wolf comes we will kill it.’
See Leutsch, Paroemiog. Gr. 1. 273; 2.121, 510; Babrius 16.
ὃ Cyrus the First was the son of Cambyses.
¢ Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos, fell victim to a plot by the
Persian satrap Oroetes, c. 522 B.c.

117

The Women
of Paeonia

AELIAN

~ 2 \ - > ἤ Ὁ ,
ταῦτά τοι καὶ Δαρεῖος ἐθαύμασεν, ore [latoves
) 4 ε ~ ‘ ‘4 ,
νεανίαι τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀδελφὴν οὕτω σκευάσαντες,

/ - / , 7 ? .
δικάζοντος αὐτοῦ, παρήγαγον αὐτήν, ἵνα ἐς ἔρωτα
, > ᾿

ἐμπεσὼν τῆς οὕτως ἀθρόας αὐτουργίας ἐλεῇ 1
lad 2\y\\ ¢ , , ‘S 9 5
Παίονας. ἀλλὰ ἡ φύσις πόσῳ Ἰ[αιονίδων * σοβα-
ρωτέρα. κύων θηράσασα (λαγὼς δὲ ἦν τὸ ἄγρευ-
μα αὐτῇ, καὶ ἐκύει ἡ κύων) ἐπεὶ ὃ τῆς σπουδῆς
τῆς προκειμένης ἐτετυχήκει, τῷ μὲν δεσπότῃ τοῦ
θηράματος ἀπέστη, ἀναχωρήσασα δὲ ἐννέα φασὶ
σκύλακας ἀποκυήσασα εἶτα ἐξέθρεψεν αὐτούς. εἰ
δὲ Λιγυστίνων > at γυναῖκες μέγα φρονοῦσιν ὅτι
κἀκεῖναι τὴν ὠδῖνα ἀπολύσασαι καὶ ἐξαναστᾶσαι
τῶν ἔργων ἔχονται τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν, ἀκούσα-
σαι τὸ τῆς κυνὸς ἔργὸν τῆς προειρημένης τοῦ
τὸ τῆς προείρημ
φυσήματος ἀποστᾶσαι πάντως ἐγκαλύψονται.

18. Τὸ μὲν τοῦ ἡμιόνου τοῦ φιλοπόνου ὃ ᾿Αριστο-
τέλης εἶπε καὶ ἡμεῖς ἄνω mov,’ τὸ δὲ τοῦ κυνὸς
4 “ - “
καὶ τοῦτο ἐν ταῖς ᾿Αθήναις γενόμενον εἰπεῖν
ΟΛ.. ἡ“ 3 > ~ “~ v4
οὐδὲν ἄτοπον. ἐς ᾿Ασκληπιοῦ παρῆλθε θεοσύλης
ὔ / ~
τό τε μεσαίτατον τῆς νυκτὸς παραφυλάξας καὶ
τῶν καθευδόντων τὸν βαθύτατον ὃ ὕπνον ἐπιτηρή-
> nt '
σας, εἶτα ὑφείλετο τῶν ἀναθημάτων πολλά, καὶ
[2 v > A, Ἂν A Rd Ἁ 3
ὥς γε ᾧετο ἐλελήθει. ἦν δὲ ἄρα σκοπὸς ἀγαθὸς
My ἴω
ἔνδον κύων καὶ τῶν ζακόρων ἀμείνων ἐς ἀγρυ-
ἢ τὰ > Γι
πνίαν, ὅσπερ οὖν εἵπετό οἱ διώκων, καὶ ὑλακτῶν
(or ἐλεήσῃ) Grasberger: ἕλῃ Mss, H.
πόσων Tlodvey.
3 ἃ ,ὔ
ἐπεὶ δέ.
τετύχηκε.
Λιγυστίων Jac, Αἰγυπτίων MSS.
6 φιλοπόνου καὶ τῆς δημοσίας αὐτῷ δοθείσης τροφῆς ἐξ ᾿Αθη-
vaiwy ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐθελουργοῦ καθ᾽ ἡλικίαν.

ττὸ

me ὦ ἢ μὲ

σι

καπνὸν ον εκρελινουο ALLE EEN ASS WL CLP be be BISA E NE τ᾿ ἀνὰ ΧΡ NAL Ee = Lh

ΝΎ CCAS ISAT ENS ADRES

ΐ
i

ON ANIMALS, VII. 12-13

was this that moved Darius to admiration when some
young Paeonians, having equipped their sister in the
manner described, brought her before him as he sat
in judgment, in order that he might be attracted by
such a concentration of self-help and show mercy to
their country. |

And yet how far more impressive is Nature than A pregnant
the Paeonian women. A bitch was hunting; the ~°™"

quarry was a hare and the bitch was pregnant. As
soon as she had attained the object of her pursuit,
she left it to her master and drawing aside, dropped
(so they say) nine puppies, which she then reared.
And if the women of Liguria pride themselves that
they also after giving birth rise up and devote them-
selves to their household duties, they will, on hearing
what the aforesaid bitch did, forgo their pride and
hide their heads in shame.

18. Aristotle has told the story of the labour-
loving Mule, and so have we earlier on,* but the
episode of the Dog, which also occurred in Athens,
is not irrelevant.

A temple-thief who had waited for the midmost
hour of night and had watched till men were deep
asleep, came to the shrine of Asclepius and stole a
number of offerings without, as he supposed, being
seen. There was however in the temple an excellent
watcher, a Dog, more awake than the attendants,
and it gave chase to the thief and never stopped

@ See 6. 49.

8 Bernard: βαρύτατον.
119g

7 που καλῶς δρῶντες.

AELIAN

᾽ 2 ) = 1 a θ ὃ ΄, Α : θὲ
οὐκ ἀνίει, ἧπερ! οὖν ἔσθενε δυνάμει τὸ πρἀάχθὲν
Ss ~ ἢ;
μαρτυρόμενος. τὰ μὲν οὖν πρῶτα ἔβαλλεν αὐτὸν
\ ς Fons “~ 3 , 7
λίθοις αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ τῆς κακῆς ἐκείνης πράξεως
κοινωνοί, τὰ δὲ τελευταῖα προύσειεν ἃ ἄρτους τε
" 7 3 7 ὃ \ 32 ΄- 3 ὃ aN
Kat μάζας. ἐπήγετο δὲ apa ταῦτα ἔλεαρ
os “΄. 3 \
κυνῶν προμηθῶς, ὥς ye ὑπελάμβανεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ
- Ζ
καὶ παρελθόντος ἐς τὴν οἰκίαν οὗ κατήγετο
ς λ 7, \ ἐλ : “7 Ε ͵ θ : \ e
ὑλάκτει Kat πάλιν προϊόντος, ἐγνώσθη μὲν ὁ
κύων ἔνθεν ἦν, τὰ λείποντα δὲ τῶν ἀναθημάτων
ἐπόθουν αἱ γραφαί τε καὶ αἱ χῶραι ἔνθα ἀ ἀνέκειντο.
συνέβαλον οὖν τοῦτον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι οἱ ᾿Αθηναῖοι,
καὶ στρεβλώσαντες τὸ πᾶν κατέγνωσαν. καὶ 6
μὲν ἐδικαιώθη τὰ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου, ὁ δὲ κύων
’ κυ ΄
ἐτιμήθη δημοσίᾳ τροφῇ καὶ κηδεμονίᾳ, οἷα δήπου
φύλαξ πιστὸς καὶ τῶν νεωκόρων οὐδενὸς μείων
τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν.

14. ᾿Αγαθὴ δὲ ἄρα ἦν αἷξ καὶ τὴν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν
ἀχλὺν ἥνπερ οὖν παῖδες ᾿Ασκληπιαδῶν ὑπόχυσιν
καλοῦσιν ἀκέσασθαι, καὶ λέγονταί γε οἱ ἄνθρωποι
παρ᾽ ἐκείνης uabely τόδε TO ἴαμα. TO δὲ ἄρα
τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. ὅταν αἱξ νοήσῃ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν
ἐπιθολωθέντα αὐτῇ, πρόσεισι βάτῳ, καὶ Tapa
βάλλει τῇ ἀκάνθῃ τὸ ὄμμα. 4 καὶ ἡ μὲν ἐκέντησε,
τὸ δὲ ὑγρὸν ἐξεχώρησε, μένει δὲ ἀπαθὴς ἡ κόρη,
καὶ ὁρᾷ αὖθις, καὶ δεῖται σοφίας καὶ χειρουργίας
ἀνθρωπικῆς οὐδὲ ἕν.

15. Ποταμὸν ἐλέφαντες διέρχονται οἱ μὲν ἔτι
νέοι διανηχόμενοι: ot δὲ ἤδη τέλειοι, καὶ εἰ

1 ἀλλ᾽ ἧπερ. * Hemst: ὑποσείων.

120

ON ANIMALS, VII. 13-15

barking, as with all its might it summoned others
to witness what had been done. And so at first the
thief and his companions in that crime pelted the
Dog with stones; finally he dangled bread and cakes
in front of it. He had been careful to bring these
things with him as an attraction to Dogs, as he
supposed. Since however the Dog continued to
bark when the thief came to the house where he
lodged and when he came out again, it was dis-
covered where the Dog belonged, while the inscrip-
tions and the places where the offerings were set up
lacked the missing objects. The Athenians there-
fore concluded that this man was the thief, and by
putting him on the rack discovered the whole affair.
And the man was sentenced in accordance with the
law, while the Dog was rewarded by being fed and
cared for at the public expense for being a faithful
watcher and second to none of the attendants in
vigilance.

14. The Goat, it seems, is in fact skilful at curing The Goat
that mist of the eyes which doctors call ‘ cataract,’ cataract

and it is even said that men have learnt this cure

_ from the Goat. The method is as follows. When

the Goat perceives that its sight has become clouded
it goes to a bramble and applies its eye to a thorn.
The thorn pricks it and the fluid is discharged, but the
pupilremains unharmed and the Goat regains its sight
without any need of man’s skill and manipulation.

15. Young Elephants cross a river by swimming, Blephants,
their mutual
+ devotion

but the full-grown ones, if covered by the stream

3 4 oo 4 wv δέ 3 ᾽ὔ
καὶ ταῦτα. ὄμμα νύξαι αὐτό.

121

AELIAN

“-- > 9 7 :
καλύπτοιντο ὑπὸ τοῦ ῥεύματος, ἀνέχουσι μέντοι
A > ~
τὰς προβοσκίδας ὑπὲρ τὸ ὕδωρ, τὰ δὲ ἀρτιγενῆ
ς 7

DA > \ κι γΩὩ2ϑΝ 7 1 ,ὔ /
moda ἐπὶ τῶν ὀδόντων + φέρουσιν at μητέρες.
“

τῶν μὲν οὖν κινδύνων καὶ πόνων Ol νέοι κατάρχονται,
~ “~ > i ~
ποτοῦ δὲ ἄρα καὶ τροφῆς ἀφίστανται Tots πρεσβυ-
7 3 σ΄ 4 σι f é
τέροις αἰδῶ νέμοντες, καὶ τῶν Λυκούργου νόμων 5
ὃ ᾽ 10 δὲ cf 7 δὲ , ἐλ Fd
ἔονται olde οὐδὲ ἕν. γήρᾳ δὲ παρειμένον ἐλέφαντα
ἱ :
ἢ νόσῳ κατειλημμένον οὐκ ἄν ποτε οἱ συναγελα-
~ ‘4
ζόμενοι καταλίποιεν, ἀλλὰ πιστῶς παραμένουσι,
“- Font 4
Kal ἀναρρῶσαι σπεύδουσι τῇ TE ἄλλῃ καὶ ἐὰν
~ / Ἀ
διώκωνται, καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μάχονται, καὶ τυτρώ-
“- ᾽
σκονται παραμένοντες, φυγεῖν δυνάμενοι. καὶ τὰ
βρέφη δὲ τὰ νεαρὰ οὐκ ἄν ποτε at τεκοῦσαι
προδοῖεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκείνοις ἐκεῖναι πιστῶς παραμέ-
νουσι, Kaitos τῶν θηρώντων ἐγκειμένων, καὶ
᾿ Α 7
πρότερόν γε τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπολίποιεν ἂν ἢ τὰ τέκνα.
3 4 \ ὔ Bs wy ~
Ἐγὼ δὲ ἤδειν μειράκιον dv ἄνθρωπον πρεσβῦτιν
Λαινίλλαν ὄνομα, καὶ ἐδείκνυτο ὑπὸ πάντων, καὶ
5 > >] “-ς ~ 3 ὔὟ A iv ~ ᾽
ἐπ’ αὐτῇ μῦθος ἐλέγετο, καὶ ὅ γε μῦθος τοιόσδε
Ow ¢ 3 4 4
ἣν. Ob πρεσβύτεροι πρός με ἔφασκον ἐκείνην τὴν
~ ta “~
ἄνθρωπον ἐρασθεῖσαν οἰκέτου δριμέως αὐτῷ μὲν
“-- “-- ¢ ~
συγκαθεύδειν, κηλῖδα δὲ ἄρα παισὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῆς
¢ “~ iow 4 3 4
περιάπτειν. ot δὲ εὐγενεῖς ἦσαν, Kal ἐς τὴν
Ἁ A ¢€ ’ 3 7 5 7 A
βουλὴν τὴν Ρωμαίων ἐτέλουν ἐκ πατέρων τε καὶ
~ ~ i “A 3
τῶν ἄνω τοῦ γένους. οἱ τοίνυν {παῖδες »5 αἰδού-
Fon’ o~ A
μενοι TH μητρὶ ἤχθοντο τοιαῦτα δρώσῃ, καὶ
A ~ 4
πράως ὑπενουθέτουν, καὶ τοῦ πραττομένου τὴν
΄-΄χ“"ἐζ ἤ 9
αἰσχύνην ἐπέλεγον ἡσυχῆ: ἡ δὲ κυμαίνουσα ἐκ
~ if > fa ~
THs ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ TOV ἔρωτα ἐπίπροσθεν τῶν
~~ 4
υἱέων ποιησαμένη, καταγορεύει αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν
1 ὀδόντων ἣ κεράτων.
2 Jac: τιμῶντες τὸ γῆρας νόμων.
122

ON ANIMALS, VII. 15

raise their trunks above the water, while the mother-
elephants carry their newly born young upon their
tusks. It is the young who take the lead in danger
and hardship; out of respect for their elders they give
way to them in drinking and feeding, and they have
no need at allof the laws of Lycurgus. An Elephant
old and weak or stricken with disease would never be
abandoned by his fellows in the herd, but they stay
beside him loyally and hasten to lend him strength
on all occasions, especially when they are being
pursued; and they fight on his behalf and through
staying by him receive wounds, when they could
escape. The females would never desert the young
they have borne, but they too remain loyally at their
side even though hunters press hard upon them, and
they would sooner relinquish their life than their
offspring.

When I was a boy I knew an aged woman, Laenilla taenilla and
and her sons

by name, and everybody used to point at her,
a story was told of her to this effect. My elders used
to tell me that she had passionately loved a servant

_and used to sleep with him, thereby bringing a slur

upon her own children. They were well-born and
belonged to the Senatorial order in Rome by descent
from their fathers and remoter ancestors. Now the
children for very shame were angry with their
mother for her behaviour and admonished her gently
and spoke to her in private of the shamefulness of her
conduct. But she, seething with lust and putting her
love above her sons, accused them. before the magis-

3 Reiske: παρόντες. 4 γένους ἀρξάμενοι.

5 ἐπαῖδες» add. A.
123

AKLIAN

ἄρχοντα, καὶ λέγει ws ἐπιβουλεύοιεν αὐτῷ. 6
δὲ ἔχων ἐς διαβολὰς τὸ οὖς ῥάδιον, καὶ ὑπόπτης
ὧν καὶ δειλὸς (πάθη δὲ ταῦτα ἀγεννοῦς διανοίας)
ἐπίστευσε. καὶ οἱ μὲν οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦντες ἀπέθνη-
σκον, ἡ δὲ ἄθλον τοῦ κατειπεῖν ἠνέγκατο δούλῳ
συγκαθεύδειν ἀνέδην. ὦ πατρῷοι θεοὶ καὶ “Apres
λοχεία Ἐϊλείθυιαί τε θυγατέρες “Hpas, τί ἂν ὃ
ἔτι Μήδειαν εἴποιμεν τὴν Κόλχον ὅ ἢ Πρόκνην
τὴν ᾿Ατθίδα, τῶν ἔναγχός τε καὶ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς
παθῶν μνημονεύσαντες ;

oN
16. Tas χερσαίας χελώνας ot ἀετοὶ συλλαβόντες
“a 7 " 4
εἶτα ἄνωθεν προσήραξαν ταῖς πέτραις, καὶ TO
3 ~ 4 7
χελώνιον συντρίψαντες οὕτως ἐξαιροῦσι τὴν σάρκα

> 7 \
καὶ ἐσθίουσι. ταύτῃ τοι καὶ Αἰσχύλον τὸν

᾿Ελευσίνιον τὸν τῆς τραγῳδίας ποιητὴν τὸν βίον
ἀκούω καταστρέψαι. ὃ μὲν Αἰσχύλος ἐπί τινος
πέτρας καθῆστο, τὰ εἰθισμένα δήπου φιλοσοφῶν
καὶ γράφων: ἄθριξ δὲ Hv τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ ψιλός.
οἰηθεὶς οὖν ἀετὸς ὁ πέτραν εἶναι τὴν κεφαλὴν
εἶτα μέντοι κατ᾽ αὐτῆς ἀφῆκεν ἣν κατεῖχε χελώνην,
καὶ ἔτυχε τοῦ προειρημένου τὸ βέλος, καὶ ἀπ-
ἔκτεινε τὸν ἄνδρα.

17. Κηρύλος δὲ καὶ ἀλκυὼν ὁμόνομοι καὶ
σύμβιοι... «ὃ καὶ γήρᾳ γε παρειμένους αὐτοὺς
ἐπιθέμεναι at ἀλκυόνες περιάγουσιν ἐπὶ τῶν
καλουμένων μεσοπτερυγίων. ἄνθρωποι δὲ καὶ
γῶν ἀνδρῶν ὑπογηρώντων καταφρονοῦσι καὶ πρὸς
τὰ μειράκια ἀφορῶσι: καὶ οἱ γήμαντες περὶ τὰς

1 ἄρχοντα ὃς ἣν τότε. 2 ἂν οὖν ΟΥ̓ οὖν ἄν.

124

ON ANIMALS, VII. 15-17

trate, alleging that they were plotting against him.
The magistrate having a ready ear for calumny, and
being of a suspicious and cowardly nature (those are
attributes of an ignoble character), believed her.
So her sons who had done no wrong were put to
death, while the woman reaped the reward of her
informing and slept freely with the slave.

O gods of our fathers, O Artemis of the child-bed,
and ye goddesses of birth, daughters of Hera, why,
when we recall calamities that befell recently and in
our own day, should we speak any more of Colchian
Medea or Attic Procne? :

16. Eagles seize Tortoises and then dash them on Eagle and

rocks from a height, and having smashed the Tor-
toise’s shell they extract and eat the flesh. It was
in this way, I am told, that Aeschylus of Eleusis, the
tragic poet, met his end. Aeschylus was seated
upon a rock, meditating, I suppose, and writing as
usual. He had no hair on his head and was bald.
Now an Eagle supposing his head to be a rock, let
the Tortoise which it was holding fall upon it. And
the missile struck the aforesaid poet and killed him.

17. The Ceryl and the Halcyon feed side by side ale

and live together. ... And when the Ceryls are
feeble with age the Halcyons place them on their
back and carry them about upon their middle wing-
feathers, as they are called. Women however look
down upon those who are ageing, and cast their eyes
on youths. And husbands are eager after girls and

3 Ἰζόλχιν. 4 ὁ ἀετός.
5 Lacuna.

125

AELIAN

νέας ἡνέμωνται, τῶν ἀφηλικεστέρων , γαμετῶν
ὥραν μὴ τιθέμενοι, καὶ οὐκ αἰδοῦνται οἱ ἔμφωνοι
τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων βιοῦντες ἀλογώτερον.

18. Λέγουσι δὲ οἱ
καλουμένην. Κοπτὸν δύο μόνους ὁρᾶσθαι κόρακας.
ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων of τὴν ὄρειον παραφυλάτ-
τοντες διὰ τὸ τῆς σμαράγδου μέταλλον διισχυρί-
ζονται καὶ οἵδε τοσούτους ὄρνιθας τοῦ γένους

50 > “~ 3 70 » Ἁ ὃ 4 wh SAA o~
τοῦδε οἰκεῖν ἐκεῖθι." νεὼς δὲ ᾿Απόλλωνι τιμᾶται

3 ~ ,ὔ > , Ὁ > ς ‘ /
ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ ἐκείνῳ, οὗπερ οὖν ἱεροὺς εἶναί

7
φασιν αὐτούς.

19. Καὶ ταύτῃ δὲ τὰ ἴδια τῶν ζῴων εἰπεῖν οὐ
χεῖρόν ἐστι. νωθέστερά πως δοκεῖ πρόβατον καὶ
ὄνος, ἄτολμα δὲ νεβροὶ καὶ πρόκες καὶ ξόρκες τε
καὶ πύγαργοι 3 καὶ of Aaya, ous δὴ καὶ πτῶκας
οἱ ποιηταὶ καλοῦσιν ..ὦ ἀλλὰ καὶ 5 σῶν πετεινῶν
ἐστιν ἄτολμα οἱ στρουθοὶ ὁ καὶ τῶν ἐνύδρων οἱ

κεστρεῖς. ἀκόλαστα δὲ κυνοκέφαλοί τε καὶ τράγοι,

> 4
καὶ peévtor™ καὶ ὁμιλεῖν γυναιξί φασιν αὐτούς,
, \ 7
καὶ ἔοικεν αὐτὸ θαυμάζειν Πώδαρος. καὶ κύνες
δὲ γυναιξὶν ἐπιτολμᾶν ἐλέχθησαν, καὶ μέντοι καὶ
κριθῆναι λέγεται γυνὴ ἐν τῇ. Ῥώμῃ μοιχείας ὑπὸ
΄
τοῦ γήμαντος, καὶ ὁ 8 μοιχὸς ἐν τῇ κῃ κύων
εἶναι ἐλέγετο. ἤκουσα δὲ κυνοκεφάλους καὶ παρθέ-
νοις ἐπιμανῆναι καὶ μέντοι καὶ βιάσασθαι ὑπερ
1 «Αἰγύπτιοι add. H.
2 Reiske: καὶ ἐκεῖθι.
3 Ges: πυλαργοί.
3 καλοῦσιν ἐ ἐκ τοῦ πτώσσειν δηλονότι.
5 καὶ ἄλλα καί.
8 ἄτολμα ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ σ.
126

(Αἰγύπτιοι)! περὶ τὴν

ON ANIMALS, VIL. 17-19

take no notice of their elderly legal wives: creatures
gifted with speech are not ashamed to live more
unreasonably than unreasoning animals.

18. The Egyptians who live about the region The Raven

called Coptus assert that no more than a pair of
Ravens is seen there. And even those Romans who
guard the mountain district because of the Emerald
Mine,* they also maintain that the same number of
this species live there. And in that place there is a

_ temple in honour of Apollo to whom, they say, the

birds are sacred.

19. Here again I may as well speak of the pecu-
liarities of animals. The sheep and the ass seem
inclined to be sluggish; fawns, roe-deer, gazelles,
antelopes, hares (which poets style ‘ cowerers ’) are
timorous creatures. Timorous also are sparrows
among birds, and the mullet among fishes. Baboons
and goats are lecherous, and it is even said that the
latter have intercourse with women—a fact which
Pindar [ fr. 201 5] appears to marvel at. And even
hounds are said to have assaulted women, and indeed
it is reported that a woman in Rome was accused by
her husband of adultery, and the adulterer in the
case was stated to be a hound. And I have heard
that baboons have fallen madly in love with girls and
have even raped them, being more wanton than the

α Smaragdus, the Egyptian Emerald Mine, lay E of the
Nile near the Red Sea, between Berenice and the mountain
range of Lepte. See Geogr. Jl 16 (1900) 537.

7 Reiske: οὗτοι μέν. 8 ὁ μέν.
: 127

Anima! pe-
culiarities

AELIAN

᾿ “ 7 -
τὰ μικρὰ μειράκια τὰ τοῦ Μενάνδρου ἐν ταῖς
f /
παννυχίσιν ἀκόλαστα. λαγνίστατον δὲ καὶ ὃ
“ΜΕΝ \ f 4 “- > νι. i
πέρδιξ καὶ μοιχικόν. λάθρᾳ γοῦν ἐπὶ tas θηλείας
7 3 " 7 “ ~~ ‘ 4
Kal πως ἀψοφητὶ λέγονται φοιτᾶν. τροφῆς δὲ τὴν
κοινωνίαν ἥκιστα ἐνδέχονται κύνες. πολλάκις
- “a 7
γοῦν Kat ὑπὲρ ὀστοῦ 1 ἀλλήλους σπαράττουσιν,
" 5 ς ; νι ¢ ͵ eo a
ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ Μενέλεως καὶ ὁ Ildpis ὑπέρ τῆς
¢ f ὔ \ 2 , 4 ’ὔ ; 7
Edévns. μόνους δὲ ἀκούω τοὺς Μεμφίτας κύνας
ἐς μέσον τὰς ἁρπαγὰς κατατίθεσθαι καὶ ἐσθίειν
“ ἊΨ 4 \ » ς “ 3 7
κοινῇ. ἄσπονδον δὲ καὶ ἔκδικον 6 σῦς. ἀλλήλων
γοῦν οὗτοι νεκρῶν ἐσθίουσι. καὶ οἱ ἰχθῦς δὲ οἱ
πλεῖστοι δρῶσιν αὐτό. ἀσεβέστατον δὲ ὁ ποτά-
μίος ἵππος" γεύεται γὰρ καὶ τοῦ πατρός. ἀναιδῆ
\ \ 4 ξ ,ὔ ξ 7 “A ‘
δὲ καὶ μὴ ῥᾳδίως ὑποστελλόμενα μυῖαι καὶ
κύνες.

20. ᾿Αγριώτατον δὲ λύκοι. λέγουσι δὲ οἱ Αὐγύπ-
τιον ὅτι καὶ ἀλλήλους ἐσθίουσι, καὶ τὸν τρόπον
τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκεῖνόν φασιν. ἐς κύκλον ἑαυτοὺς
περιαγαγόντες * εἶτα μέντοι θέουσιν. ὅταν δέ τις
αὐτῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν δρόμον ἰλίγγου σκοτο-
δινιάσῃ καὶ περιτραπῇ, ot λουποὶ κειμένῳ προσπε-
σόντες σπαράττουσιν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐσθίουσι. δρῶσι
δὲ ἄρα τοῦτο ἐπὰν ἀθηρίᾳ περιπέσωσι. πρὸς γὰρ
τὸ μὴ πεινῆν πάντα λῆρον ἥγηνται ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ
τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακοὶ πρὸς τὸ ἀργύριον.

21. Ἱζακοηθέστατον δὲ ἄρα τῶν ζῴων ὁ πίθηκος
Hv, καὶ ἔτι πλέον ἐν οἷς πειρᾶται μιμεῖσθαι τὸν
A > #f “~ 9D AN 3 > 7
ἄνθρωπον. αὐτίκα γοῦν ἰδὼν ἐξ ἀπόπτου τροφὸν

1 Bred, 2 ,
ὀστέου. περιάγοντες.

128

a

ON ANIMALS, VII. 19-21

little boys in the all-night revels of Menander.* The

partridge is extremely lecherous and given to

adultery; at any rate these birds are said to go after
the hens stealthily and with hardly a sound. Dogs.
do not admit others to share their food on any
account; at any rate they often tear one another
over a bone, just like Menelaus and Paris over Helen.
I am told that the dogs of Memphis are the only
ones that pool their prey and share their food. The
hog is implacable and devoid of justice; at any rate
these creatures eat one another’s dead bodies. And
the majority of fishes do the same. But the most
impious of all is the hippopotamus, for it even eats
its own father. Flies and dogs are without shame
and are not easily checked.

90. Wolves are exceedingly fierce, and the Hungry
ἃ Walves

Egyptians assert that they even eat one another, an
that the way in which they plot against each other.
is, they say, as follows. They gather round in a circle
and then start to run.. And when any of their
number is overcome with dizziness from running
round and round and collapses, the rest fall upon him
as he lies, tear him to pieces, and eat him. They do
this whenever their hunting is unsuccessful. For
with them, provided they do not-go hungry, nothing
else counts; just as with evil men nothing counts but
money.

21. Itseemsthatthe Monkey isthemost mischievous Monkey and
of animals; and even worse when it attempts to 7

copy man. For example, a Monkey observed from
4 No comedy of Menander of the name of Iavvuyis(-ides) is
known; the reference is presumably general.
129
VOL. II. F

AELIAN

λούουσαν παιδίον ἐν σκάφῃ, Kal πρῶτον μὲν
ὑπολύουσαν τὰ σπάργανα, εἶτα + ἐκ τοῦ λουτροῦ
κατειλοῦσαν αὐτό, παραφυλάξας ἔνθα ἀνέπαυσε
τὸ βρέφος, ὡς εἶδεν ἐρημίαν, ἐσέθορε διά τινος
ἀνεῳγμένης θυρίδος, ἐξ ἧς οἱ πάντα 3. σύνοπτα ἦν,
καὶ ἄρας ἐκ τῆς εὐνῆς τὸ παιδίον, καὶ γυμνώσας
ὡς ἔτυχεν ἰδών, καὶ κομίσας ἐς μέσον τὴν σκάφην,
ζέον ὕδωρ (καὶ γὰρ ἦν ἐπί τινων ἀνθράκων
θερμαινόμενον) τοῦ δυστυχοῦς παιδίου κατέχεε,
καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτὸ οἴκτιστα.

22. Κακόηθες δὲ ἄρα καὶ ὕαινα ἦν καὶ ὃν φασι
κοροκότταν. ἡ γοῦν ὕαινα πρὸς τὰ αὔλια νύκτωρ
φοιτᾷ, καὶ μιμεῖται τοὺς ἐμοῦντας. ἀκούοντες δὲ
οἱ κύνες προσίασιν ὡς ἐπ᾽ ἄνθρωπον: ἡ δὲ αὐτοὺς
συλλαμβάνει καὶ ἐσθίει. πανουργίαν δὲ κοροκόττα,
ἣν ἤκουσα καὶ αὐτήν,3 ἔοικα λέξειν νῦν. ἐς τοὺς
δρυμοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἐγκρύψας εἶτα μέντοι τῶν ὑλουρ-
γούντων ἀκούει καλούντων * ἀλλήλους ἐξ ὀνόμα-
τος καὶ μέντοι (καὶ) λαλούντων ἄττα.δ εἶτα
μέντοι μιμεῦται τὰς φωνάς, καὶ φθέγγεται, εἰ καὶ
μυθῶδες τὸ εἰρημένον, ἀνθρωπίνῃ γοῦν φωνῇ,
καὶ καλεῖ τὸ ὄνομα ὃ ἤκουσε. καὶ ὃ κληθεὶς
πρόσεισιν, ὁ δὲ ἀναχωρεῖ καὶ πάλιν καλεῖ: 6 de
καὶ μᾶλλον κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν ἔρχεται. ὅταν δὲ
αὐτὸν τῶν συμπονούντων ἀπαγάγῃ καὶ ἔρημον
ἀποφήνῃ, συλλαβὼν ἀπέκτεινε καὶ ποιεῖται τρο-
φὴν τὸ ἐντεῦθεν φωνῇ δελεάσας.

1 εἶτα δέ. 2 καὶ πᾶντα.

$ νυν» 4 ᾿ ,
αὐτός. καὶ καλούντων.

5 ἐκαίΣ add. Η.

δ. Jac: αὐτά...

1540

io κεκδοροιρλεεθυπεζενν δον νκεῖς ὑπο

ON ANIMALS, VII. 21-22

a distance a nurse washing a baby in a tub, observed.
how first of all she took off its swaddling clothes and
then after the bath wrapped it up; it marked where
she laid it to rest, and when it saw the place unguarded,
sprang in through an open window, from which it
had a view of everything ; took the baby from its cot;
stripped it as it had chanced to see the nurse do;

brought the tub out, and (there was water heating on

some embers) poured boiling water over the wretched
baby and even caused it to die most miserably.

22. It seems that the Hyena also and the Coro- The Hyena .

cottas,* as they call it, are viciously clever animals.
At any rate the Hyena prowls about cattle-folds by
night and imitates men vomiting. And at the
sound dogs come up, thinking it is a man. Where-

upon it seizes and devours them. I shall now relate ‘The ‘oro-
the villainy of the Corocottas, of which I have pene

actually heard. It conceals itself in thickets and_
then listens to woodcutters calling one another by
name, and even to anything they say. And then it
imitates their voices and speaks (though the story
may be fabulous) with a voice that sounds human at
any rate, calling out the name which it has heard.:
And the man who has been called approaches: the
animal withdraws and calls again: the man follows
the voice all the more. But when it has drawn him
away from his fellow-workers and has got him alone,
it seizes him and kills him and then makes a meal off
him after luring him on with its call. |

@ Kopoxérras: ‘ perh, hyena’ (L-S*); O. Keller (Anittke
Tierwelt 1.152) says that the word is of Libyan origin and
denotes the speckled Libyan hyena, Hyaena crocuta, as distinct
from the common striped species.

131

AELIAN

23. ᾿Αμύνεσθαι δὲ τὸν προαδικήσαντα ὃ λέων
οἶδε, καὶ εἰ μὴ παραχρῆμα αὐτῷ τιμωρήσειεν,
ἀλλά γε καὶ μετόπισθεν ἔ ἔχει κότον, ὄφρα τελέσσῃ,
ἐν στήθεσσιν ἑοῖσιν.

31 7 ξ ᾽ € ~
καὶ τούτου μαρτύριον Ἰόβας Oo Μαυρούσιος Oo τοῦ

παρὰ “Ῥωμαίοις ὁμηρεύσαντος πατήρ. ἤλαυνέ
ποτε διὰ τῆς ἐρήμης ἐπί τινα ἔθνη τῶν ἀποστάν-
των, Kat τις αὐτῷ τῶν παραθεόντων μειρακίσκος
εὐγενὴς μὲν καὶ ὡραῖος ἤδη δὲ <Kat>! θηρατικὸς
λέοντά πως παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐκφανέντα ἀκοντίῳ
βάλλει, καὶ σκοποῦ μὲν ἔτυχε καὶ ἔτρωσεν, οὐ
μὴν ἀπέκτεινε. κατὰ σπουδὴν δὲ τῆς ἐλάσεως
οὔσης, τὸ μὲν θηρίον ἀνεχώρησε, παρέδραμε δὲ
καὶ ὁ τρώσας καὶ ot λουποί. ἐνιαυτοῦ γε μὴν

διελθόντος ὁλοκλήρου ὁ μὲν ᾿Ιόβας κατορθώσας

> y? A 3 ΄ \ 9. ἃ ξ 37 \
ἐφ᾽ ἃ ἐστάλη, τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποστρέφων ἔρχεται κατὰ
: ὔ
τὸν τόπον, ἔνθα ἔτυχεν ὃ λέων τρωθεῖΐς. καὶ
2, 7 7 7 i /
ὄντος πλήθους παμπόλλου πρόσεισι τὸ θηρίον
>? al A ΄- \ ww > , /
ἐκεῖνο, Kal τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἀπέχεται, συλλαμβάνει
δὲ τὸν τρώσαντα πρὸ ἐνιαυτοῦ, καὶ τὸν θυμόν,
ὅνπερ οὖν παρὰ τὸν χρόνον τὸν προειρημένον
> 7 > 7 > σι ‘ 4 “ A
ἐφύλαττεν, ἀθρόον ἐκχεῖ Kat διασπᾷ τὸ pet-
Ὡ / > 7 \ 3 ? fA
ράκιον γνωρίσας. ἐτιμώρησε δὲ οὐδείς, φοβηθέν-
τες ὀργὴν λέοντος ἰσχυρὰν καὶ δεινῶς ἐκπληκτικήν"
ἄλλως τε καὶ ἡ πορεία ἤπειγεν.

24. Καρκίνων γένη. διάφορα καὶ φῦλα ποικίλα
ἀκούω εἶναι. καὶ γὰρ οὖν καὶ πετραῖοί εἰσιν"
1 «καί add. Reiske.

132

wine

ON ANIMALS, VII. 23-24

23. The Lion knows how to take vengeance on one A Lion’s

who has previously done him an injury, and even
though the vengeance be not immediate,

‘ yet doth he keep his anger thereafter in his bosom,
until he accomplish it’ [Hom. 1}. 1. 82].

And Juba of Mauretania,® the father of the boy who
was a hostage at Rome, bears witness to this. He
was marching once through the desert against some
tribes who had revolted, when one of the youths who
ran beside him, well-born, handsome, and already
fond of the chase, struck with a javelin a Lion that
chanced to appear by the roadside: he hit the mark
and wounded the beast, but failed to killit. But the
expedition was in haste; the animal drew off, and
the boy who had wounded it hurried by with the
rest. Now when a whole year had passed and Juba
had accomplished his purpose, returning by the same
way he arrived at the spot where the Lion had
happened to be wounded. And in spite of the
multitude of men that same Lion came forward and,
without touching anyone else, seized him who a
year ago had wounded it, and pouring forth the
gathered anger which it had been nursing all that
while, tore to pieces the boy whom it had recognised.
But not a soul took vengeance: they were afraid of
the fierce and absolutely terrifying anger of the
Lion. And besides, their journey made them hasten.

vengeance

24. I have heard that there are different species The Grab :

and various tribes of Crabs, for there are some that

* Juba I, King of Numidia (not Mauretania), Ist cent. B. o.;
took the side of Pompey in the Civil War; after the battle of
Thapsus he committed suicide.

133

various
species

AELIAN

ἀλλὰ καὶ πηλοὶ τίκτουσι καρκίνους, καὶ φυκία
καὶ ψάμμος. ἰδέαι τε αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπωνυμίαι
πολλαί. πλανῶνται δὲ δεῦρο καὶ ἐκεῖσε (οἱ
καλούμενοι δρομίαι (ὧδε γὰρ καλεῖν "' αὐτοὺς
πρεπωδέστατον): ἀτρεμεῖν γὰρ καὶ ἡσυχάζειν

> Δ “ een 7 3} 22. 2 3 f
ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς χώρας οὔτε ἐθέλουσιν οὔτε πεφύ-.

Ἀ ΄“ v
κασιν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς ἀλῶνται, ὅθενπερ
/
καὶ ἐξέφυσαν: ἤδη δὲ καὶ στέλλονται πορρωτέρω,
[2 iy e “~ 3 θ λ "ὃ 3 e ,
ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φιλαπόδημοι." ὑπὸό-
ὲ αὐτοῖς τῆ j aA > ἐθέλ
θεσις δὲ αὐτοῖς τῆς τοσαύτης ἅλης τὸ ἐθέλειν
ἴον 3 \ “ ;
πλείονός τινος ἀπολαῦσαι. ἐν δὲ τῷ Θρᾳκίῳ
“- > “~ /
Βοσπόρῳ ἐπειδὰν τὸ ῥεῦμα βίαιον ἐκ τοῦ Uovrov
: ἢ ς , ι
καταφέρηται, βούλονται μὲν οἱ καρκίνοι πρὸς
> ᾽ὔ > A é 4 ce «A dt “a ὃ A
ἐναντίον ὠθούμενοι τὸν ῥοῦν βαδίζειν, ταῖς δὲ
᾿ 4 com ;
ἄκραις ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς βιαιότερον τὸ ῥεῦμα περιρ-
> [4 3 7 7
ρήγνυται. τοὺς οὖν καρκίνους ὠθήσει τε πάντως
4 > 7 > {NX 4 92 “ can ¢ 7
καὶ ἀνατρέψει, εἰ μέλλοιεν * ἰέναι τῷ ρῷ ὁμόσε.
΄- ? > , ~
of δὲ ταῦτα προΐσασι, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἀφίκωνται τῆς
i
ἄκρας πλησίον, ἕκαστος ἔν τινι κολπώδει χωρίῳ
3 2
ἐπέχει, καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀναμένει. εἶτα ἀθροι-
f ? > en f 3 4 “ \
σθέντες ἐν ταὐτῷ προσανέρπουσιν ἐς τὴν γῆν, καὶ
> “~
ἀναρριχῶνται ἐπὶ τοὺς κρημνούς, καὶ τὸ μάλιστα
~ ~ 4 /
ῥοῶδες καὶ βίαιον τοῦ πελάγους πεζοὶ διέρχονται.
on : A f
εἶτα ἔξω τῆς ἄκρας γενόμενοι καὶ παραμείψαντες
> "
αὐτὴν ἐς τὴν θάλατταν κατίασιν αὖθις. φείδονται
o ‘ “ / > \ ‘ ΄-
δὲ αὐτῶν οἱ ἁλιεῖς, ὅτι ἑκόντες ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν
‘ a) ¢ ~ “
προσέρπουσι, σωθῆναι δεόμενοι ὁμοῦ αὐτοῖς.
-“- 7 3 ὔ
οὔκουν ὃ ὑπομένουσι τοῦ κλύδωνος ἀγριώτεροι
“ e
δοκεῖν ot ἄνθρωποι.

134

ON ANIMALS, VII. 24

live on rocks, but there are others besides, which mud,

seaweed, and sand generate. And they have many
shapes and many names. And the Runner-crabs
as they are called (and most appropriately) roam
hither and thither, for it is neither their wish nor
their nature to remain quiet and at rest in the same
place, but they wander about the beaches where they
were born; and they do in fact go further afield, just
as human beings who are fond of travel. The
occasion of their wandering so far is their desire for
more food of some kind. Now in the Thracian
Bosphorus whenever the current comes down
strongly from the Euxine, the Crabs wish to force
their way upstream, but, as is natural, the stream
breaks with too great violence round the headlands,
so that if they should want to go against it, it will
altogether thrust them back and defeat them. Now
the Crabs are already aware of this, and whenever
they come near a headland each one halts in some
bay-like spot and waits for the others. Then when
they have congregated in one spot, they crawl up on
to the land and scramble up on to the cliffs and so
pass by on foot that part of the sea where the current
is strongest. Then having surmounted and passed
the promontory, they descend once more to the sea.
But the fishermen spare them because it is of their
own free will that the Crabs crawl out on to the land:

the men wish also to be spared themselves: they

cannot bear to appear more cruel than the waves.

1 ¢oi> add. Schn. 2 ἐπαινεῖν.

3 φιλαπόδημοι. ἡ δὲ πρόφασις τῆς πλάνης εἰς τὰ πετρώδη
χωρία ἐλθεῖν καὶ εἰς τὰ πηλώδη πολλάκις. : 3

4 μέλλουοιν.

5 ζ ε Α bg , 8 bd > a
ELTA EQUTOY ἐπέχει. ουκοῦν αὕτοις.

135

AELIAN

25. Ζηλοτυπίαν ζῴου φρονιμωτάτου Kat μέντοι
καὶ σωφρονεστάτου ἄνω που οἶδα εἰπών (πορφυ-
ὔ Fat > ~
ρίων δὲ dpa τὸ ζῷον ἦν, εἴ τι παρ᾽ ἡμῖν μνήμης
ὑγιές ἐστιν 1), ἤδη δὲ καὶ κυνίδιον μοιχοῖς
7 δ wv a) -“ 7 4 :
πολέμιον καὶ ἔχθιστον τῷδε TH φύλῳ πέπυσμαι

Σ λ , € A iY "ἢ ὃ ς , 2.
LKEALKOV. ὁ μὲν μοῦχος EVOOV UTTEKEKPUTITO,

a s o
τῆς γυναικὸς τῆς μάχλου πυθομένης ἥκειν Tov
yt ὃ ? 3 3 ὃ 7 \ [τ δὴ ΄.
ἄνδρα ἐξ ὃ ἀποδημίας, καὶ ὡς γε ᾧετο σκέπης
5 ~ > ξ ,ὔ ~ ~
ἐν καλῷ ἦν" οἱ γάρ τοι τῶν οἰκετῶν δεκασθέντες,
oe ~ ~
ὅσοι γοῦν τῇ δεσποίνῃ TO κακὸν συναπέκρυπτον
(ἦσαν δὲ ἄρα ὅσοι κατόπτρων καὶ μύρων
᾿] ‘i 7 4 > ᾽ oY e a f
ἐπιστάται, φησὶν Edpuridns), καὶ ot θυρωροὶ δέ
Φ aw ~ ~ ~
εἶτα μέντοι θαρρεῖν ἐποίουν τὸν τῆς εὐνῆς κλῶπα.
4 2 “- ““
οὐ μὴν ἀπήντησε ταύτῃ ταῦτα, ἐπεὶ. καὶ πολλοῦ
“ A) ~
δεῖ: τὸ γάρ τοι κυνίδιον ὅ ὑλακτεῖ τε ἅμα καὶ
7 ιν" “
έντοι καὶ ταῖς θύραις τοὺς πόδας προσαράττει,
ε > ~*~ \ ~ ~
ὡς ἐκπλῆξαι τὸν δεσπότην καὶ συμβαλεῖν ἐκ τοῦ
i on a
δρωμένου κακὸν εἶναί τι ὑπολανθάνον. Kal οἷα
> 4 6 \ θ ? 3 λ Ἀ 4 4 λ
εἰκὸς ὃ τὰς θύρας ἐκβαλὼν τὸν μοιχὸν καταλαμ-
“ > Ἥ / a“ :
βάνει. καὶ εἶχε ξίφος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ νύκτα ἀνέμενεν,
@ 3 “" .
ἵνα ἀποκτείνῃ τῆς οἰκίας τὸν δεσπότην Kal τὴν

προειρημένην ὑπογήμῃ γυναῖκα.

\ “~ ”~

26. Doda δὲ αἰγῶν ἐστι καὶ ἐκεῖνα. πτύελον
> f f > , ¢ ff οὶ
ἀνθρώπου θανατηφόρον εἶναι ζῴῳ ἑτέρῳ καλῶς
" \ / εν “
ἴσασι καὶ φυλάττονται, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς

+

πειρώμεθα ἀποδιδράσκειν ὅσα ἀνθρώπῳ κακόν
> ἐν ~
ἐστιν, εἴπερ οὖν ἀπογεύσαιτο αὐτῶν. ἤδη μέντοι

1 εἰς...
9 7 >
ἀγαθόν ἐστιν.

2 ὑπεκρύπτετο.

5. Jac: ὡς ἐξ.

136

ἐστιν] εἴ τι μέντοι. καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν μνήμης ὑγιοῦς

4 εἶναι.

παν er ml APPEAR πο ΝΟ Ως emt samt TAN HONE τυ τσ τυ λ τ τστυσντι
PEASANT AKANE CLE IAL - πο bi nant a
ὩΣ eee με bin prone a

ON ANIMALS, VII. 25-26

25. I know that I have somewhere earlier on ®
spoken of jealousy on the part of an animal not only
extremely prudent but also extremely continent:
it was, if my memory is sound, the Purple Coot.
And I have now heard of a Lap-dog in Sicily that was
the enemy of adulterers and a bitter foe to all of
that class. The adulterer had concealed himself
indoors, the lecherous woman having heard that her
husband was returning from a journey; and the man
was, as he supposed, well-situated for a hiding-place :
for the servants, or those who were in league with
their mistress to conceal the crime (there were ἡ such
as were stewards of mirrors and of perfumes,’ as
Euripides says [Or. 1112]),® and the doorkeepers too
had been bribed, and this made the adulterer bold.
However matters did not turn out as intended; far
from it. For the Lap-dog kept barking and even
scratching with its paws at the door in such a way as
to alarm the master and to cause him by its action to
guess that there was some mischief lurking. 50
naturally enough he threw open the door and caught
the adulterer. The man had a sword and was waiting
till night fell so that he might kill the master of the
house and thereupon marry the aforesaid woman.

96. Here is another example of the cleverness of
Goats. They know full well that human spittle is
deadly to other animals and they keep away from it,
just as we also try to avoid anything that would
injure a man were he to taste of it. Indeed it has

@ See 3. 42.

ὃ Our texts of Euripides have οἵους ἐνόπτρων . . . ἐπιστάτας.

ὕ
5 κυνίδιον ἔνθα ὃ μοιχὸς ἦν. δ. εἰκὸς δείσας.

137

Lap-dog and

adulterer

The Goat

and human

spittle

AELIAN

1 » 6 > a a ͵ 4
τις καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἀγνοῶν καὶ λαθών {τι κακὸν»
‘4 ξ δὲ > ? bd] 3 } Xr {θ ‘ 2
κατέπιεν, at δὲ αἶγες, οὐκ av αὐτὰς λάθοι τὸ
προειρημένον. ἀποκτείνειν δὲ καὶ τὰς θαλαττίας
σκολοπένδρας τὸ αὐτὸ δήπου πτύελον δεινότατόν
> ? 4 € * . 3 ‘4 “~
ἐστι. μέλλουσα δὲ ἡ al€ ἀποσφάττεσθαι σαφῶς

> ‘ 4 7 > Ἂ 7} ΄σι' :
οἶδε. καὶ τὸ μαρτύριον, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι τροφῆς

προσάψαιτο. οὐκ ἀξιοῖ δὲ προβάτων οὐραγεῖν,

ἀλλὰ ἡγεῖσθαι 8 αὐτὴν δεῖν καὶ ἐκ τῆς βαδίσεως

ὁμολογεῖ. προθεῖ γοῦν ἐκείνων, καὶ μέντοι καὶ

αὐτῶν τῶν αἰγῶν ὁ 6 τράγος, τῷ γενείῳ θαρρῶν

καὶ κατά τινα φύσιν θαυμαστὴν τοῦ θήλεος
f \ »

προκρίνων TO ἄρρεν.

97. Ἐξῤπειθέσταταῦ δὲ ἄρα τῶν ζῴων τὰ
7 Ψ " ‘
πρόβατα ἣν καὶ ἄρχεσθαι φύσει πεπαιδευμένα.
ὑπακούει γοῦν καὶ τῷ νομεῖ καὶ τοῖς κυσί, καὶ
? 1 σ 6 a. | es -m Qi \
μέντοι καὶ ἕπεταιδ ταῖς αἰξί. φιλεῖ δὲ καὶ
ἴλλ λ . 9 “. " € f ~ Xr 4 3
ἄλληλα ἰσχυρῶς, καὶ ὑπό ye τῶν λύκων ἐπιβου-
/ Φ “-.
λεύεται ἧττον: οὐ γὰρ πλανᾶται ἰδίᾳ ἕκαστον,
> ΄- ; aN
οὐδὲ μὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ συννόμου σχίζεται, ὥσπερ οὖν
ξ > A / ὃ \ ΓΑ Ὡ 27 * '?
ai αἶγες. λέγουσι δὲ “ApaBes ὅτι apa τὰ Tap
“ 7 , σι ΄-
αὐτοῖς ποίμνια πιαίνεται ὑπὸ μουσικῆς μᾶλλον
“᾿ 4 ~ ΄“΄ - ΄-ὦ'
ἢ ὑπὸ τοῦ χιλοῦ. τῶν δὲ ἁλμυρῶν ἐσθίει ἥδιον"
“ 4 \ ~
ποιεῖται γὰρ τὴν τοιαύτην τροφὴν ποτοῦ ὄψον.
7 Ἀ 7 i “ “a
τά ye μὴν πρόβατα κἀκεῖνο οἶδεν, ὅτι αὐτοῖς ὁ
»" \ ¢ 7
βορρᾶς καὶ 6 νότος συμμάχονται πρὸς τὸ τίκτειν
3 “ ~ > ~
od μεῖον τῶν ἀναβαινόντων αὐτὰ κριῶν: οἶδε δὲ
4 - ὔ δι :
καὶ τοῦτο, ὅτι ἄρα ὁ μὲν βορρᾶς ἀρρενοποιός
> e \ ‘ x
ἐστιν, 6 δὲ νότος θηλυγόνος εἶναι πέφυκε: καὶ
7N 4 ~ “. “
ἐὰν δέηται τοῦδε τοῦ ἐκγόνου ἢ τοῦδε ὀχευομένη
1 {τι κακόν» add. Η.
8 ἡγεῖσθαι οὖν.

138

2 Reiske: τὸ ἤδη.
4 αὐτὰς ras αἶγας.

ON ANIMALS, VII. 26-27

happened before now that a man has in his ignor-
ance and unconsciously swallowed some poison; but
as to Goats, the aforesaid spittle would never take
them unawares. And doubtless the same spittle is
most effective at killing even sea-scolopendras. A
Goat that is destined for slaughter is well aware of
it: witness the fact that it will no longer touch
food. And a Goat disdains to bring up the rear of
a flock of sheep, but must take the lead, and pro-
claims it by its gait. Atany rate she walks ahead of
them, and the He-goat of the She-goats as well: his
beard gives him confidence, and by some mysterious
natural instinct he sets the male above the female.

27. It seems that Sheep are in fact the most The Shee

readily obedient of animals and have been taught —

by Nature to submit to rule. At all events they give
heed to the shepherd and his dogs, and they even
follow goats. Also they are devoted to one another

wolves. For a Sheep does not wander away by
itself, nor yet does it separate itself from its fellow,
as goats do. The Arabians maintain that their
flocks grow fat upon music rather than upon fodder.
They like eating saline things, because they add a
flavour to their drink. Moreover Sheep know this
too, viz that the north wind and the south wind, no
less than the rams which mount them, are their allies
in promoting fertility. And this also they know, that
whereas the north wind tends to produce males, the
south wind produces females. And a Sheep that is
being covered faces in this direction or in that

lS ---.-.------------

6 “
€TFOVT AL.

139

5 εὐπειθέστατα A, εὐπειθέστερα L.

and consequently less exposed to the attacks of:

Winds

promote
f

ertility

AELIAN

ἡ οἷς, πρὸς τὸν ἀπέβλεψεν ἢ πρὸς τόν. ᾿Αχιλλεὺς
μὲν οὖν ἵνα ὁ φίλος αὐτῷ κείμενος ἐπὶ τῆς πυρᾶς
καυθῇ, καὶ εὐχῆς ἐδεῖτο, καὶ ἡ “Ipis παρεκάλει
τοὺς ἀνέμους αὐτῷ, ὦ καλὲ Ὅμηρε, καὶ ὑπισχ-
νεῖτο ὃ ἥκουσιν ἱερουργίαν otovel μισθόν, καὶ ὁ
τοῦ Νεοκλέους δὲ ᾿Αθηναίους ἐδίδασκε θύειν τοῖς
πνεύμασιν: αἵ δὲ οἷς ἀπραγμόνως τοὺς ἀνέμους
ἐς ὠδῖνα τὴν σφετέραν ὑπηρέτας ἑτοίμους καὶ
ἀκλήτους ἔχουσι. σκοποὶ δὲ ἄρα τούτων εἰσὶ καὶ
of ποιμένες ἀγαθοί. ὅταν γοῦν 6 νότος πνέῃ,
τότε τοὺς κριοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς οἷς ἄγουσιν, ἵνα ἡ γονὴ 3
θηλυγόνος ἢ αὐτοῖς μᾶλλον.

28, “Ore τὸν ᾿Ικάριον ἀπέκτειναν οὗ προσήκοντες
τοῖς πρῶτον πιοῦσιν οἶνον καὶ ἐς ὕπνον ἐμπεσοῦσιν,
> 5 ? 4 4 ἐν 4 4 5 ἫΝ
οὐκ εἰδότες πω μὴ θάνατον εἶναι τὸ πραχθὲν ἀλλὰ
οἰνηρὸν κάρον, ἐνόσησαν ot κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αττικήν,
ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν Tov Διονύσου Τιμωροῦντος τῷ πβῥώτῳ
΄ς“Ν ΄“--ὦ ¢ “- ~
γεωργῷ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ φυτῶν Kat πρεσβυτάτῳ. ὁ
“--ς ᾽’ ΄-“-
γοῦν ᾿Ιύθιος ἔχρησεν, εἰ βούλονται τυχεῖν σωτη-
, > ῃ , 19 , μοὶ ΄, ay
ρίας, ᾿Ικαρίῳ θύειν καὶ ᾿Ηριγόνῃ τῇ τούτου παιδὶ
\ ϑῷ A ~ ὃ , “ ” § > e λ 4
καὶ τῷ κυνὶ TH ἀδομένῳ, ὅτι dpa dv ὑπερβολὴν
> é “ε΄. 4 Α “-
εὐνοίας τῆς πρὸς τὴν δέσποιναν βιῶναι μετ᾽
> Ά ᾽’ 37 ᾽ f + 5 ,ὔ 4 .
αὐτὴν οὐκ ἔγνω. παίζει δὲ Εὐριπίδης λέγων
nm ,ὔ Α 4. on
χρηστοῖσι δούλοις συμφορὰ τὰ δεσποτῶν
κακῶς πίτνοντα καὶ φρενῶν ἀνθάπτεται.

1 1 ~ 2 > ,
ὑπισχνεῖται. ἐπιγονή.

140

~ Sas cha ae ge . TS rrr

[ων Ree ners eis 5

ON ANIMALS, VII. 27-28

according as it wants a male or a female offspring.

So Achilles needed to pray in order that his friend
lying on the pyre might be burned, and Iris sum-
moned the winds for him, O noble Homer [17]. 23.
194 ff.], promising them, if they came, a sacrifice by
way of reward. And the son of Neocles 5 taught the
Athenians to sacrifice to the Winds. But Sheep
without any trouble have them ready and un-
summoned to help them to pregnancy. And so
shepherds also are good at looking out for them.
At any rate when the south wind blows they put
the rams to the Sheep, in order that their offspring
may preferably be female.

28. When Icarius was slain by the relatives of Icarius and

those who, after drinking wine for the first time, fell

asleep (for as yet they did not know that what had

happened was not death but a drunken stupor), the
people of Attica suffered from a disease, Dionysus
thereby (as I think) avenging the first and the most
elderly man who cultivated his plants.? At any rate
the Pythian oracle declared that if they wanted to

be restored to health they must offer sacrifice to.

Icarius and to Erigone his daughter and to her hound
which was celebrated for having in its excessive love
for its mistress declined to outlive her. Euripides
is not serious when he says [| Med. 54] |

‘Good slaves are grieved and their hearts are
gripped when things go ill with their masters,’

α Themistocles. Cp. Hdt. 7. 179.

> Icarius was instructed by Dionysus in the cultivation
of the vine. Wine and its possible effects were till then
unknown.

141

the Hound
of Erigone

AKLIAN

τ᾿
ποῦ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῷ δεσπότῃ τέθνηκε,
κυνὸς δούλου δράσαντος αὐτό;

29. ᾿Ιδίαν δὲ ἄρα κυνῶν ἐς τοὺς τρέφοντας
εὔνοιαν 1 καὶ ἐκεῖνο μαρτυρεῖ. Ἰζολοφώνιος ἀνὴρ
παραγίνεται ἐς τὴν Dewy ᾿συνωνησόμενός τινα"
καὶ γὰρ ἣν ἐμπορικός, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ὠνίων
καπηλείαν τε καὶ μεταβολὴν πρόσοδον εἶχεν.
ἀργύριον δὲ ἐπήγετο καὶ οἰκέτην καὶ κύνα, ἔφερε
δὲ τὸ ἀργύριον ὃ δοῦλος. ἐπεὶ δὲ πρὸ 0808 ἢ ἦσαν,
ὁ οἰκέτης ἐξετράπετο' ἤπειγε γάρ τι αὐτὸν τῶν
κατὰ φύσιν, ἠκολούθησε δὲ καὶ ὁ κύων. τὸ
τοίνυν φασκώλιον ἀνέπαυσεν ὁ νεανίας, καὶ
ἀνελέσθαι πάλιν οὐκ ἐνενόησεν, ἀλλὰ BETO
ἀπιών" 6 δὲ κύων ἑαυτὸν κατακλίνας ἐπὶ τῷ
ἀργυρίῳ ἔμενεν ἦσυχος. ἐλθόντες δὲ ἐς τὴν
Τέων 6 τε δεσπότης. καὶ ὁ οἰκέτης εἶτα μέντοι
ἄπρακτοι ἐπανῆλθον, ὅτου ὠνήσωνται 2 οὐκ ἔχον-
τες τὴν αὐτὴν γε. μὴν ἐκτρέπονται πάλιν. ἔνθα ὁ
οἰκέτης ἀπέλιπε τὸ βαλάντιον, καὶ καταλαμ-
βάνουσι τὸν σφέτερον κύνα ἐπικείμενον. αὐτῷ καὶ
μόλις ἐμπνέοντα ὃ ὑπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ. ὁ δὲ ὡς εἶδε τὸν
δεσπότην καὶ τὸν ὁμόδουλον, ἑαυτὸν ἀποκλίνας
τοῦ φασκωλίου, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον καὶ τὴν

φρουρὰν καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν. ἀφῆκεν. οὔκουν. οὐδὲ

[Ἄργος ὁ κύων μυθοποίημα ἦν, ὦ θεῖε Ὅμηρε,

σόν, οὐδὲ κόμπος ποιητικός, εἴπερ. οὖν καὶ τῷ

Tries ταῦτα ἀπήντησεν ὅσα 8 προεῖπον.
t 18 “- “~ , 3 4 > ; ‘
LOLOV . . «. THS τῶν K. εἰς TOUS T. EVUVOLGS.
2 Ward: ὀνήσονται.
8 ὅσα Kat.

142

ana eee hee heater ee ae .

ON ANIMALS, VII. 28-29

for where is the man who died in consequence of his
master’s death,* although this is what a dog—a slave
—did?

29. Now here is a further testimony to the peculiar 4 eae

goodwill which Dogs bear towards those who keep ~
them. A man of Colophon arrived at Teos with the
intention of buying up certain articles, for he was a
merchant and made his profits by retailing and ex-
changing his purchases. And he brought with him
money, a servant, and a Dog; and the slave carried
the money. But on the journey the servant stepped
aside—he had a pressing call of nature—and the Dog
followed him. Now the young man put down the
money-bag and forgot to pick it up again and went
on his way. But the Dog lay down on the money
and remained quietly there. And when the master
and his servant arrived at Teos they returned without
doing any business, not having the means to make
purchases. They turned aside however along the
same road where the servant left the purse and found
their own Dog lying upon it and hardly breathing
from starvation. But directly the Dog saw its
master and its fellow-slave it moved off the money-
bag and in the same instant gave up its post of
guardian and its life.

So then even the deg Argus, O divine Homer, was
no fiction of yours, no poetical exaggeration, if indeed
the events which I have narrated really befell the
man of Teos.°

4 See 6. 25 fin.
> Homer Od. 17. 291; cp. Ael. NA 4. 40.
¢ This is a slip; the man came from Colophon.

ΠΑΈΙΙΑΝ

80. Γένος καρκίνων ἔστι, καὶ πετηλίαι + ὄνομα

3 “~ ~ ‘ ον 4 3 “ > ,ὔ ;
αὐτοῖς. τῶν μὲν οὖν ἄλλων ἰδεῖν εἰσι λευκότεροι,

᾽ \ ? os - 7ὔ Ἁ “- :
τίκτονται δὲ ἐν τῷ πηλῷ. δείσαντες δὲ οὗτοι

καὶ πέτονται" ἔχουσι yap πτερύγια μικρά, ἅπερ
οὖν αὐτοὺς ἡσυχῆ μετεωρίζει τε καὶ ἐλαφρίζει.
βαδίζοντες μὲν οὖν ἥκιστα τούτων δέονται,
φοβηθέντες δὲ ἔχουσί τινα ἐπικουρίαν οὐ πάνυ
τι 3 καρτεράν: ἁλίσκονται γὰρ οὔτε ὑψηλοὶ
πετόμενοι, οὔτε μὴν μετεωροπορεῖν οἷοί τε ὄντες.
τούτους τοι 3 τοὺς καρκίνους ἐσθίουσί τινες" φασὶ
δὲ καὶ ἰσχίου πόνῳ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, εἴ τις φάγοι
ἀλγῶν.

31. Αἱ δὲ καρκινάδες τίκτονται μὲν γυμναί, τὸ
δὲ ὄστρακον ἑαυταῖς αἱροῦνται ὡς οἰκίαν οἰκῆσαι
τὴν ἀρίστην. ὑποδύονται δὲ καὶ πορφύρας ὄστρα-
κον κενῷ περιτυχοῦσαι καὶ στρόμβου. καὶ ἐς
ὅσον μὲν αὐτὴν στέγει, χαίρει τῇ καταγωγῇ᾽ ἐὰν

δὲ αὐξήσῃ τὴν σάρκα, ἐς ἄλλον μετοικίζεται

οἶκον. περιτυγχάνει δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις πολ-
dots .*

¢ A ,
32. Οἱ δὲ στρόμβοι καὶ βασιλέα ἔχουσι, καὶ
f γ᾿
μάλα ye εὐπειθῶς ἄρχονται. καὶ 6 μὲν βασιλεὺς
“Ὁ ? ,
οὗτος μεγέθει μέν ἐστι μέγιστος, κάλλιστος δὲ
f 4 > \ ξ ~ σι
κάλλος. καὶ εἰ μὲν εἴη οἱ καταδῦναι λῷον,
3 »“»» on
ἔδρασε τοῦτο πρώτιστος: εἰ δὲ ἀναδῦναι, καὶ
~ 3
τοῦδε ἄρχει: μετακινουμένῳ δὲ ἕπονται καὶ οἱ
λ 7] μὰ ὃ᾽ aN EH: } ὃ 4 7 ?
οὐποί. ὅστις δ᾽ ἂν ἕλῃ τόνδε τὸν βασιλέα, ὅτι
1 πηλαῖοι Η.
3 μέντοι.
4 πολλοῖς καὶ κενοῖς ὀστράκοις.

2 ,
TAVTY.

144

nee.

Lenin ap ne tea SOL SLED SD

EET

AREA IA pte tcra ncaa a fe ILE AERA IAL Eat

ON ANIMALS, VII. 30-32

30. There is a species of Crab called Petehae
(flyers). They are paler in appearance than other

crabs and are generated in the mud. And when

scared they actually fly, for they possess tiny wings
which give them a slight lift and lessen their weight.
When walking however they have no need of
them, but when frightened these wings afford
them a certain not very considerable assistance, for
as they do not fly high and are unable to travel
through the air, they are caught; and some people
eat these crabs. And they do say that they are good
for sciatica if eaten during an attack. |

31. Hermit-crabs are born without a shell and
select for themselves the shell that makes the best
house for them to live in. They even enter the shell
of the purple-shellfish if they can find one empty,
and the shell of the-whelk. And so long as it is large

The ‘ Flying

ra

The Hermit

era

enough to cover them they are satisfied with their |

lodging. But iftheir body grows they migrate to an-

other dwelling, and they find quantities of such shells,

32. Whelks even have a King and submit most
obediently to his rule. And this King exceeds
all others in size and beauty. And if it is ex-
pedient for him to sink, he is the first to do so; if to
come up again, he leads the way; and when _he
moves to another place the rest follow him. The

man who succeeds in catching this King knows well

that his affairs will prosper. Moreover if a man

« Thompson, Gk. fishes, s.v. καρκίνος, ‘they suggest the
little sand-hoppers,’ which leap about but cannot fly.

5 κάλλει Ges.
145

The King
Whelk

AELIAN

ἄμεινον πράξει καλῶς οἷδε. καὶ μέντοι καὶ εἴ τις
ido. θηρώμενον, εὐθυμότερος ἀπῆλθεν, ὥς τι
χρηστὸν καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἕξων. ἐν Βυζαντίῳ δὲ καὶ
ἄθλον πρόκειται τῷ θηράσαντι τὸν προειρημένον"

διδόασι δὲ ot συνθηραταὶ δραχμὴν ᾿Αττικὴν

ἕκαστος τῷ ἑλόντι, καὶ τό γε ἄθλον τοῦτό ἐστιν.

Ἁ > ἡ
33. Τοὺς ἐχίνους ὃ κλύδων κυλίων ἐς τὰ ἔξω
5 4 ~ ~ ~ f ᾿
καὶ προσαράττων τῷ ξηρῷ τῆς θαλάττης βιαιότατα
ἐκβ A ~ / 5 ~ 7 Lif
K ἄλλει. τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι δεδιότες, ὅταν
f “~
αἴσθωνται φρίττον τὸ κῦμα καὶ μέλλον 1 ddpd-
¢ / “a
τερον ὑπανίστασθαι, ταῖς ἀκάνθαις ἀναιροῦνται
ita 37
λιθίδια, ὅσα εὔκολά ἐστι φέρειν. αὐτοῖς, καὶ

é ουσιν Ὁ“ ‘ > € di ‘4 3 \
xX ερμα, KQt OV p@ ἑυς κυλίονται, οὐδὲ

‘4 a é
πάσχουσιν ὃ δεδοίκασιν.

᾿ 34. “A πορφύρα λίχνον ἐστὶν ἰσχυρῶς, Kal
ἔχει γλῶτταν προμηκεστέραν, καὶ διείρει διὰ
παντὸς οὗπερ ἂν καὶ δύνηται, καὶ διὰ ταύτης
ἕλκει ὅσα ἐσθίει, καὶ διὰ ταύτης δὲ ἁλίσκεται.
καὶ ὁ τρόπος τῆς θήρας ἐκεῖνός ἐστι. διαπλέκεται
κυρτὶς μικρὰ μέν, πυκνὴ δέ: καὶ ἐντὸς ἔχει
στρόμβον," καὶ διεῖρται οὗτος ἐν τῇ κυρτίδι μέσῃ.
ἀγώνισμα οὖν τῇ πορφύρᾳ διατεῖναι τὴν γλῶττάν
ἐστι καὶ ἐφικέσθαι αὐτοῦ: καὶ ἀνάγκη πᾶσαν
αὐτὴν προβάλλειν, εἰ μέλλοι μὴ ἁμαρτήσεσθαι
eye ἊΨ

οὗ γλίχεται.5 καὶ ἐμβαλοῦσα τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκμυξᾷ,
εἶτα διῴδησεν αὐτῇ ὁ ἡ γλῶττα ὑπὸ πλησμονῆς,
Kat ἐξελκύσαι ἀδύνατός ἐστιν αὖθις. μένει τοίνυν

1 μέλλον πνεῦμα.
2 στρόμβον τῇ πορφύρᾳ τὸ δέλεαρ.
146

ON ANIMALS, VII. 32-34

sees a King Whelk being caught, he goes away in
more cheerful spirits, imagining that he too will have
some good fortune. And at Byzantium a prize is
offered for the man who catches the aforesaid fish:
each of his fellow-anglers contributes an Attic
drachma to the one who catches it, and that is the
prize.

33. Waves roll Sea-urchins out of their haunts, The Sea-
dash them on to the dry land, and hurl them with the ae

utmost violence out of the sea. So for fear of this,
whenever these creatures perceive the waves rippling
and beginning to swell to greater violence, they pick
up with their prickles as many pebbles as they can
carry and have some ballast, so that they are not
easily rolled about and do not undergo what they
dread. |

34. The Purple Shellfish is exceedingly gluttonous The Purple

and possesses an unusually long tongue which it εὰ
thrusts through everything that it can. By this.
means it draws in whatever it eats, and by this means.
it is caught. And the way in which it is hunted is
this: men weave a weel, small and of close texture,
and inside there is a whelk and this has been in-
serted in the centre of the weel. Now the Purple
Shellfish struggles to extend its tongue to the utmost
and to reach its prey. And it is forced to project
the whole length if it is not to miss what it longs for.
And when it has inserted its tongue it sucks until the
tongue is so swollen with surfeiting that the creature
cannot withdraw it again. So there it remains

3 γλίχεται λαβεῖν. | 4 ἑαυτήν.
147

ΘΑΙΑΝ

ἁλοῦσα, καὶ 6 _Toppupeds αἰσθόμενος ἐθήρασε
δεύτερος τὴν ὑπὸ τῆς λιχνείας προῃρημένην.1

35. Σικολόπενδρα θαλάττιον θηρίον, Kat τῷ
χερσαΐῳ ζὅσα ἰδεῖν 5 ὁμοιότατόν ἐστιν: εἰ δὲ

αὐτῆς προσάψαιτο * ἀνθρωπεία σάρξ, ὁδαξᾶταί τε

παραχρῆμα καὶ κνησιᾷ," καὶ πάσχει τοιαῦτα,
4
ὁποῖα καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς βοτάνης, ἣν καλοῦσι κνίδην.

οὐ ποιοῦσι δὲ καὶ ἀκαλῆφαι κνησμονήν, ἀλλὰ οὔπω

τοσοῦτον. εἰσὶ δὲ ἐδώδιμοι μᾶλλον διελθούσης
ἰσημερίας at ἀκαλῆφαι.

96. Ὅταν ὑπὸ τῶν θηρατῶν ὡς ἐν πολέμῳ
στρατιῶται τραπῶσιν οἱ ἐλέφαντες καὶ ἐς φυγὴν
ὁρμήσωσιν, οὐ φεύγουσι διῃρημένοι οὐδὲ Kall
ἕνα, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ, καὶ πιέζουσιν ἀλλήλους τῶν
συννόμων ἐχόμενοι. καὶ κύκλῳ μὲν οἵ νέοι, WS
εἰπεῖν, τὸ μαχιμώτατον, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ οἱ γεγηρα-
κότες καὶ αἱ μητέρες, ὑπὸ ταύταις δὲ τὰ πώλια,
ἑκάστη τὸ ἴδιον ἀποκρύπτουσα: καὶ ὁρῶνταΐ γε
οἵδε Ob μικροὶ σπανιώτατα. ἀθρόους δὲ αὐτοὺς
ἐὰν θεάσωνται καὶ λέοντες, ἢ φεύγουσι προ-
τροπάδην ἢ ἄλλος ἄλλῃ κατέπτηξαν ὡς νεβροΐ,
τοὺς ἐλέφαντας of τέως φοβεροὶ καὶ ἐκπληκτικοὶ
καταδείσαντες. οὐκ ἀνθίσταται δὲ τοῖς διώκουσιν
ἐλέφας, εἰ μή ποτε ἄρα ὑπὲρ τῶν τέκνων καὶ τῶν
νοσούντων. ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἀμαχός ἐστιν.

1 Jace: ὑπὸ τῆς A. τὴν ee ene:
2 ζὅσαΣ add. Η.

3 Ges: εἰπεῖν.

4 προσάψεται.

5 Rewske: κνηστιᾷ or κνησίει.

148

aes

ON ANIMALS, VII. 34-36

caught, and the fisherman observing this, catches
for the second time what has already been caught by
its own gluttony.

35. The Scolopendra ¢ is a creature of the sea and The Sea-

looks exactly like the land-scolopendra (centipede).
And if a man’s skin come in contact with it, he at
once feels a stinging and irritation, and has the same
kind of pain as from the plant they call the nettle.
And Sea-anemones also produce an itching, but not
so violent; and they are better to eat when the
equinox is past.

36. Whenever Elephants are routed by hunters A stampede
and begin to stampede like soldiers in war, they do
not scatter and take to flight singly but in a herd,

and they press against one another as they cling to
their fellows. Round the outside are the young
animals, the most pugnacious, you might say; in the
middle the old elephants and the mothers, and
beneath them the baby elephants, each mother
hiding her own. And these little ones are very
seldom to be seen. And even lions, if they catch
sight of them herded together, lions which up to
that moment have inspired fear and consternation,
either flee at full speed or cower down one here
and another there, like fawns, in terror of the
Klephants.

The Elephant does not turn and face its pursuers,
unless it be to protect its young or sick ones: then it
is irresistible.

α Not certainly identified; thought by some to be an
annelid worm, e.g. Nereis, but for the fact that this does not
sting.

149

AELIAN

7 “- re ~
37. Πώρου τοῦ τῶν ᾿Ινδῶν βασιλέως ὁ ἐλέφας
> “~ 4 3 / 7
ἐν τῇ πρὸς ᾿Αλέξανδρον μάχῃ τετρωμένου πολλὰ
ξ mn \ A ~ ~ i
ἡσυχῆ καὶ μετὰ φειδοῦς τῇ προβοσκίδι ἐξήρει τὰ
> f \
ἀκόντια, καὶ μέντοι καὶ αὐτὸς τετρωμένος πολλὰ
᾽ 7 > 4 Ἂ “~ μέ + ¢ 4
οὐ πρότερον εἶξε πρὶν ἢ συνεῖναι ὅτι ἄρα ὁ δεσπότης
2 “ἃ ὃ \ 4 « λ “-ς Xv \
αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν ῥοὴν τοῦ αἵματος τὴν πολλὴν
“a 4 ? ? “Ὁ
παρεῖται καὶ ἐκθνήσκει. οὐκοῦν ἑαυτὸν ὑπέκλινε,
4 > λ f- »” ν 4 3; Ἁ ξ
καὶ ὀκλάσας ἔμεινεν, ἵνα μὴ ἄνωθεν πεσὼν ὁ

an S , ~~ ~ “
Πῶρος εἶτα μέντοι κακωθῇ τὸ σῶμα ἐπὶ μᾶλλον.

38. Ὑρκανοῖς καὶ Μάγνησιν οἱ κύνες συνεστρα-
τεύοντο, καὶ ἣν καὶ τοῦτο συμμαχικὸν ἀγαθὸν
αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐπικουρικόν. συστρατιώτην δέ τις
᾿Αθηναῖος ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τῇ ἐν Μαραθῶνι ἐπήγετο
κύνα, καὶ γραφῇ εἴκασται ἐν τῇ Ποικίλῃ ἑκάτερος,
μὴ ἀτιμασθέντος τοῦ κυνός, ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ τοῦ
κινδύνου μισθὸν εἰληφότος ὁρᾶσθαι σὺν τοῖς ἀμφὶ
τὸν Κυνέγειρον καὶ "EmifnAdy τε καὶ Καλλίμαχον.
ἔστι δὲ 1 καὶ οὗτοι καὶ ὃ κύων Μίκωνος ὃ γράμμα.
οἱ δὲ οὐ τούτου, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θασίου Πολυγνώτου
φασίν. | |

tL εἰσὶ δέ Schn. 2 Meursius : Nixwvos.

¢ At the crossing of the Hydaspes (mod. Jhelum), 327 8.0.
> Porus survived to become the ally of Alexander.

150

ΐ

ON ANIMALS, VII. 37-38

37. When Porus the King of the Indians had Porusandhis

received many wounds in the battle ὦ against Alex-
ander, his Elephant proceeded with its trunk to pick
out the javelins gently and cautiously; and in spite

οὗ its own numerous wounds it did not pause until it

knew that its master was collapsing through copious
loss of blood and was swooning.® And so it lay down
beneath him and remained crouching to prevent
Porus from falling from a height and damaging his
body even more.

38. Their hounds used to accompany the people
of Hyrcania and Magnesia to war, and in fact these
allies were an advantage and a help to them. An
Athenian took with him a Dog as fellow-soldier to

Hlephant

The Dog as
companion

the battle of Marathon, and both are figured in a

painting in the Stoa Poecile, nor was the Dog denied
honour but received the reward of the danger it had
undergone in being seen among the companions of
Cynegirus,4 Epizelus, and Callimachus. They and
the Dog were painted by Micon,? though some say
it was not his work but that of Polygnotus f of Thasos.

¢ * Painted Porch’: a series of colonnades surrounding the
Agora at Athens, decorated with paintings of episodes from
the Persian wars.

ἃ Brother of the poet Aeschylus, famed for his bravery at
Marathon, 490 3.c.—Epizelus (or Polyzelus) blinded at Mara-
thon by a remarkable vision; see Hdt. 6. 117 Callimachus,
Athenian Polemarch, distinguished himself at Marathon and
died there in a heroic attack on the Persian fleet.

¢ Athenian painter and sculptor, 5th cent. B.c., contem-
porary of Polygnotus; both artists painted frescoes in the Stoa
Poecile. : | ee

7 Polygnotus of Thasos, lived and worked at Athens, second
half of 5th cent. B.c. One of the foremost of Greek painters.

151.

AELIAN

39. “Ὅσοι λέγουσι θῆλυν ἔλαφον κέρατα 1 od
φύειν, οὐκ αἰδοῦνται τοὺς τοῦ ἐναντίου μάρτυρας,
Σοφοκλέα μὲν εἰπόντα

νομὰς τέ τις κεροῦσσ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ὀρθίων πάγων
καθεῖρπεν ἔλαφος" |
καὶ πάλιν
ἄρασα peas . . . καὶ κερασφόρους
στόρθυγγας εἷρφ᾽ ὃ ἕκηλος.
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὁ τοῦ Σοφίλλου ἐν τοῖς ᾿Αλεάδαις:
ὁ δὲ Εὐριπίδης ἐν τῇ ᾿Ιφιγενείᾳ.
ἔλαφον δ᾽ ᾿Αχαιῶν χερσὶν ἐνθήσω φίλαις
κεροῦσσαν, ἣν σφάζοντες αὐχήσουσι σὴν
σφάζειν θυγατέρα. ἊΝ

2 Α a >
ἐν δὲ τοῖς Τημενίδαις τὸν Ἡράκλειον ἄθλον
3; ¢
κέρατα ἔχειν ὃ αὐτὸς Εὐριπίδης φησί, τὸν τρόπον
τόνδε ἄδων
ἦλθεν δ᾽
> 4 /. 4 ΄ ᾿
ἐπὶ χρυσόκερων ἔλαφον, μεγάλων
a Ld
ἀθλων ἕνα δεινὸν ὑποστάς,
>
κατ᾽ ἔναυλ᾽ ὃ ὀρέων ἀβάτους ἐπί τε
λειμῶνας ποίμνιά τ᾽ ἄλση.
¢ 4 “a “»
ὁ δὲ Θηβαῖος μουσοποιὸς ἔν τινι τῶν ἐπινικίων
ς - ᾿
ὑμνεῖ λέγων
Εὐρυσθέος ἔντυ᾽ ἀνάγκα πατρόθεν
7 3, - 7 3 2
χρυσόκερων ἔλαφον θήλειαν ἄξονθ᾽.

᾿ 7
3 Nauck: évatvAwv.

τὰ κέρατα. * Jac: eiprev.
* In neither of the extant plays on Iphigenia.

ὃ The third ‘ Labour’ was to capture the Arcadian stag.
¢ Pindar.

152

ἘΡΟ thd denmenre Anite Hato ΜΝ

ON ANIMALS, VII. 39

39. Those who maintain that Hinds do not grow A horned

horns have no regard for witnesses to the contrary,
none for Sophocles who says

‘ And down from the steep crags came roaming
an antlered hind’ [ fr. 89 P];.

and again
‘ Lifting its nostrils . . . and the tynes of its
antlers (the hind) moved on in peace ’ [20.]}.

This is what the son of Sophillus wrote in his Aleadae.

And Euripides in his Iphigenta % says

‘But I will place in the very hands of the

Achaeans an antlered hind, which they will slay

and boast they have slain thy daughter Biz

857 N}.

And the same Euripides says in his Temenidae that
the ‘ Labour’ of Heracles ὃ had horns, in the follow-
ing verses : .

‘And he came in quest of the golden-horned
deer, braving one fearful task in his mighty
labours, over mountain haunts to meadows un-
trodden, and to groves where flocks graze’

[ fr. 740 Nj. :

And the Theban minstrel¢ in one of his Epuncian
odes sings thus: |

‘ Necessity laid upon him by Eurystheus through
his father urged him on to fetch the hind with the
golden horns ’ (Pind. O. 3. 28].? :

_ @ Tn consequence of an oath of his father Zeus, Heracles was
forced to submit to the will of Eurystheus; see Hom. 17. 19.
958. Ridgeway (Harly age of Greece, 1. 360) considered the

“horned doe’ to be the reindeer of N Asia and Europe; it is
the only kind of deer in which the female possesses horns.

153

AELIAN

καὶ ᾿Ανακρέων ἐπὶ θηλείας dyno
οἷά τε νεβρὸν νεοθηλέα
γαλαθηνόν, ὅς τ᾽ ἐν ὕλῃ κεροέσσης
ὑπολειφθεὶς ὑπὸ μητρὸς ἐπτοήθη.
\ ~
πρὸς δὲ τοὺς μοιχῶντας τὸ λεχθὲν καὶ μέντοι Kat
φ 7 ὃ ~ 3 fa J 7 > 4 ‘
doxovras δεῖν ἐροέσσης γράφειν ἀντιλέγει κατὰ
, >
κράτος ᾿Αριστοφάνης 6 Buldvrios, καὶ <éué>? ye

€ ~ m~ 93 7
αἱρεῖ τῇ ἀντιλογίᾳ.

40. Ἴδια δὲ ἄρα κυνῶν καὶ ἐκεῖνα εὐνοίας
ὑπερβολὴν πᾶσαν ἐκνενικηκότα. Πώλῳ μὲν 3 τῷ
τῆς τραγῳδίας ὑποκριτῇ 6 κύων ὁ τρόφιμος
αὐτοῦ τεθνεῶτι καὶ καομένῳ ἑαυτὸν συγκατέπρησε
τῇ πυρᾷ ἐμπηδήσας. καομένῳ δὲ καὶ Μέντορι
σκύλακες ᾿Ἐρετρικαὶ ἑαυτὰς συγκατέπρησαν ἑκοῦ-
σαι κοινωνήσασαι τοῦ τέλους. Θεόδωρον δὲ
ἄνδρα ψαλτικὴν ἀγαθόν, τὸν μὲν ἐς τὴν σορὸν
ἐνέθεσαν of προσήκοντες, κυνίδιον δὲ Μελιταῖον
ἑαυτὸ ἐνέβαλεν ἐς τὴν θήκην τοῦ νεκροῦ καὶ
συνετάφη. πέπυσμαι δὲ καὶ Αἰθιόπων εἶναι ἔθνος,
ἐν ᾧ βασιλεύει κύων, καὶ τῇ ἐκείνου ὁρμῇ πείθον-
ται, κνυζωμένου τε ἴσασιν ὅτι μὴ θυμοῦται, καὶ
ὑλακτοῦντος τὴν ὀργὴν συνιᾶσι. τοῦτο εἴ τῳ
ἱκανὸς Ἕρμιππος τεκμηριῶσαι, μάρτυρά οἱ τοῦ
1 <éue> add. H. | ;

2 μὲν οὖν.
154

i

ii
i
ἐς
¥
ει
t

ON ANIMALS, VII. 39-40

And Anacreon says of the Hind

‘Fven as a new-born fawn unweaned, which,
when forsaken by its horned mother in the forest,
is affrighted ’[ fr. 39 D].

Those who falsify the reading and go so far as to say
that we should write ἐροέσσης (for κεροέσσης) are
soundly refuted by Aristophanes of Byzantium ; and
I am convinced by his refutation.”

40. Now here are further instances afforded by
Dogs of loyalty unsurpassable. When Polus ἢ the
tragic actor died and his body was burning,
the Dog which he had kept sprang on to the

re and was burned to death along with him.
When the body of Mentor ° was burning, his Kretrian
Hounds of their own accord were burned to death
and shared his end. Theodorus,? an excellent
harp-player, was placed in the coffin by his relatives,
and his Maltese Lap-dog threw itself into the
receptacle and was buried along with him. And I
have heard that there is a race of beings in Ethiopia
among whom a Dog is king, and they obey his
wishes: when he whimpers they know that he is in
a good temper, but when he barks they understand
that he is angry. If Hermippus is in anyone's view
a competent authority, he should carry conviction

α Jn all the examples except that from Anacreon the
feminine can, as often, be taken as sexless = a deer. .

’ Polus, of Athens, 5th cent. B.c. He excelled in Sopho-
clean parts.

¢ Perh. Mentor of Rhodes, 4th cent, B.c., mercenary soldier,
later general, in the Persian army. ᾿ς

4 No harpist of this name is known. The "ἡ Theodorus ’
mentioned in Ael. VH 12. 17 was @ piper, c. 300 8.0.

155

The Dog’s
devotion to
its master

Dog as King

ΑΕΊΙΑΝ.

λόγου ἐπαγόμενος ᾿Αριστοκρέωνα 1 πειθέτω: ἐμὲ
δὲ μὴ λαθὸν εἶτα ἐν καλῷ τῆς μνήμης ἀφίκετο.

41. Λακύδῃ τῷ περιπατητικῷ κτῆμα ἦν χηνός
Te χρῆμα θαυμάσιον. ἐφίλει γοῦν τὸν τροφέα
ἰσχυρῶς, καὶ βαδίζοντι μὲν συνεβάδιζε, καθημένου
ἐ ἀνεπαύετο, οὐκ ἀπελείπετο δὲ αὐτοῦ ἔμβραχυ.
ὄνπερ καὶ ἀποθανόντα 6 Λακύδης ἔθαψε καὶ
πάνυ φιλοτίμως, ὥσπερ οὖν ἢ υἱὸν ἢ ἀδελφὸν
ἐκεῖνος θάπτων. Πύρρῳ δὲ τῷ ᾿Ηπειρώτῃ ἦν
ἐλέφας, ὅσπερ οὖν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πωλευτὴν οὕτως
ἠγάπησεν, ὥστε 5 ἀποθανόντος ἐν "Αργει τοῦ
Πύρρου, ἐκπεσόντος δὲ τοῦ ἐλαύνοντος, οὐ πρότε-
ρον ὑπέμεινεν ἀτρεμῆσαι καὶ ἡσυχάσαι πρὶν ἢ
ἀνασώσασθαι αὐτὸν 8 ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ ἐς τὸ

φίλιον μεταγαγεῖν.

42. Κακουργίαν δὲ ὀρέως Θαλῆς 6 Μιλήσιος
ἡμύνατο, καταφωράσας πάνυ ἀπορρήτως. ἅλας
ἡμίονος ἦγε φόρτον, καί ποτε διὰ ποταμοῦ ἰὼν
κατὰ τύχην κατώλισθε καὶ περιετράπη. βραχέντες
οὖν οἱ ἅλες κατετάκησαν, καὶ κοῦφος ὁ ὀρεὺς
γενόμενος ἥσθη: καὶ συνιδὼν ὁπόσον τὸ μεταξὺ
ἦν τοῦ μόχθου καὶ τῆς ῥᾳστώνης, τοῦ λοιποῦ τὴν
τύχην διδάσκαλον ποιησάμενος, ὃ πρότερον ἄκων
ἔπαθεν, εἶτα μέντοι τοῦτο εἰργάζετο ἑκών. ἄλλην
δὲ τῷ ὁρεωκόμῳ * ἐλαύνειν καὶ ἔξω τοῦ ποταμοῦ
2 ὡς.

4 ὀρεοκόμῳ.

1 Schn: ᾿Αριστοκλέωνα.
3. τοῦτον αὐτόν.

* Head of the ‘Middle Academy,’ c. 240-215 3.c.; his
copious writings have perished. The above story may well
be spiteful gossip.

156

ON ANIMALS, VII. 40-42

from having cited Aristocreon as a witness to his
story. This has not escaped my notice and it was
opportune that I remembered it.

41. Lacydes the peripatetic philosopher ¢ possessed
a remarkable goose. At any rate it was deeply
devoted to its keeper: when he went for a walk, it
went too; when he sat down, it would remain still
and would not leave him for a moment. And when
it died Lacydes gave it a most costly funeral as
though he were burying a son or a brother. And
Pyrrhus of Epirus had an elephant which was so
fond of its master that when Pyrrhus was killed at
Argos,” though its driver had fallen off, it would not.
halt and remain still until it had rescued him from
the hands of the enemy and had brought him back
to his friends.

42. Thales of Miletus ¢ repaid the malice of a Mule
which he detected with great subtlety. A Mule
was carrying a load of salt and once, when crossing .a
river, by accident stumbled and was upset. Con-
sequently the salt was soaked and melted, and the
Mule was delighted to be eased of its burden. So
the Mule realising the difference between labour and
relaxation took a lesson for the future from its
accident and deliberately contrived what before it
had unwillingly undergone. It was impossible for
the muleteer to drive it by any other road away from

ὃ Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, struck on the head by a tile and
killed while fighting at Argos, 272 B.c.

ὁ Thales, 7th/6th cent. Β.0., one of the Seven Sages of
Greece, philosopher and mathematician.

157

Lacydes and
his Goose

Pyrrhus and
his Elephant

Thales and
his Mule

AELIAN

ἄπορον ἦν. τοῦτό τοι διηγουμένου 6 Θαλῆς ὡς

> ἡ ? > 7 “ / ‘|
ἐπύθετο, σοφίᾳ ἀμύνασθαι τῆς κακουργίας τὸν

> Ff > 7 σι A 4 e \ al «Ἃ a
ὀρέα φήθη δεῖν, καὶ προστάττει ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁλῶν
σπογγιαῖς καὶ ἐρίοις ἐπισάξαι αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ τὴν
3 Ἁ ? QO 4 4 A é : v 4
ἐπιβουλὴν οὐκ εἰδὼς κατὰ TO σύνηθες ὦλισθε, Kat

3 λ 7 if) x > ἘΝ 1 4 ¢ a
ἀναπλήσας ὕδατος τὰ ἐπικείμενα, ἤσθετο ὅπως

¢ 4 f > ᾽ὔ > N / 3 \ 3 3 ?
οἱ τὸ σόφισμα ἐτράπη ἐπὶ κακόν," Kat ἐξ ἐκείνου
¢ ΄ν ~ - ~
ἡσυχῆ διερχόμενος καὶ κρατῶν τῶν σκελῶν
3 a ‘ ¢ 7 ,
ἀπαθεῖς τοὺς ἅλας διεφύλαττεν.

48. ἸΠυνθάνομαι δὲ ἐν τῇ ᾿Αντιόχου πόλει τῇ
Σύρων πρᾶον γενέσθαι ἐλέφαντα, ἰόντα τε αὐτὸν
ἐπὶ τὰς νομὰς στεφανόπωλιν γυναῖκα ὁρᾶν ἡδέως,
καὶ προσεστάναι αὐτῇ καὶ τῇ προβοσκίδι τὸ
πρόσωπον τῆς ἀνθρώπου καθαίρειν. δέλεαρ δὲ
ἄρα ἐκείνη καθίει τοῦ φίλτρου αὐτῷ στέφανον ἐκ
τῶν καθ᾽ ὥραν πλεκόμενον, καὶ τῷ μὲν ὁσημέραι
λαμβάνειν ἔργον ἦν, τῇ δὲ διδόναι. ypdve δὲ
ὕστερον ἡ μὲν ἄνθρωπος τὸν βίον κατέστρεψεν, ὁ
δὲ ἐλέφας τῆς συνηθείας διαμαρτάνων καὶ οὐχ
ὁρῶν ἣν ἐπόθει γυναῖκα, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐραστὴς
ἐρωμένης ἀτυχῶν ἐξηγριώθη: καὶ 0 τέως πραό-
τατος ὧν ἐς θυμὸν ἐξήφθη ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ τῶν
ἀνθρώπων οὗ ἄγαν ὑπὸ τῆς λύπης ἐπικλυσθέντες
καὶ ἔκφρονες γεγενημένοι.

ON ANIMALS, VII. 42-44

the river. So when Thales heard the man’s ex-
planation, he thought that he must contrive to punish

the Mule for its malice and ordered the man to load

it with sponges and wool on top of the salt. But the
Mule all unaware of the plot stumbled as usual, and
having saturated its burden with water, realised that
its trick was turned to its own undoing; so after that
it made the crossing without disturbance and kept
control of its legs and preserved the salt undamaged.

‘43. I learn that at Antioch in Syria there was a
tame Elephant and that as it went to its feeding-
grounds it used to take great pleasure in the sight
of a woman who sold garlands, and would stand close
by her and clean her face with its trunk. Accord-
ingly the woman used to hang out as a bait to charm
it a garland woven of the season’s flowers, and every
day it was the Elephant’s practice to accept, and hers
to offer it. In course of time the woman departed

this life, and the Elephant, missing its customary

fare and not seeing the woman of its desire, grew
savage like a lover who has lost his loved one... And

the creature that till then had been of the gentlest.

was inflamed with passion like men who are over-
whelmed with excess of grief and driven out of their
senses.

Elephant
and flower-

seller

44, Elephants do obeisance to the rising sun by the

lifting their trunks like hands to face its beams, and Eirpyans 3

that, you see, is why they are beloved of the god. per

44. Tov ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα προσκυνοῦσιν ἐλέφαν-
4 - ~ “a
Tes, Tas προβοσκίδας εὐθὺ τῆς ἀκτῖνος as χεῖρας
5 ᾽ o ~ “~
ἀνατείνοντες, ἔνθεν τοι Kat τῷ θεῷ φιλοῦνται.

Ἢ

1 ἐπικείμενα τοῦ ἄχθους. 2 καὶ ὅπως. : ἃ
8 * - %
Retske: κακῷ.

158 | 159

i 2." ~ > ~ id 4 3 Ὁ
é€x. . . πλεκόμενονἾ ἀεὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς τέχνης τὸν καθ᾽ ὦ. π.

AELIAN

μάρτυς ἀγαθὸς 6 Φιλοπάτωρ ἡμῖν Τ]τολεμαῖος

ἔστω. ἡ μὲν κατὰ ᾿Αντιόχου νίκη σὺν αὐτῷ
ἐγένετο, θύων δὲ ἐπινίκια καὶ ἱλεούμενος τὸν
Ἥλιον 6 Πτολεμαῖος τῇ τε ἄλλῃ μεγαλοπρεπῶς
ἔθυσεν καὶ οὖν καὶ τέτταρας ἐλέφαντας μεγέθει
μεγίστους παρέστησεν ἱερεῖα, ὥς γε ᾧετο, καὶ
ταύτῃ τῇ θυσίᾳ γεραίρων ἐκεῖνος τὸ θεῖον.
ἐνύπνιον δὲ αὐτὸν διετάραξεν, ὡς ἀπειλοῦντος
τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀήθει τε καὶ ξένῃ θυσίᾳ: καὶ
δείσας ἐκεῖνος χαλκοῦς τέτταρας ποιησάμενος
᾿ς ἀνῆψε τῷ θεῷ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνῃρημένων ἱλεούμενός 3
τε καὶ εὐμενιζόμενος αὐτόν. ἐλέφαντες μὲν οὖν
θεοὺς προσκυνοῦσιν, ot δὲ ἄνθρωποι dpa ye ®
εἰσὶ θεοὶ καὶ ὄντες εἰ φροντίζουσιν ἡμῶν διαπο-
ροῦσιν.

ON ANIMALS, VIT. 44-45

Let Ptolemy Philopator be a trustworthy witness to
the fact. With the aid of the god he overcame
Antiochus,* and in sacrificing for his victory and to
propitiate the Sun he not only offered sacrifices on a
magnificent scale but even went so far as to offer
four of the very largest elephants as victims, paying
homage, as he supposed, to the god by this very
sacrifice. But a vision in his sleep troubled him:
the god seemed to threaten him for this unusual and
strange offering. And he in his fear caused four
elephants to be made of bronze and offered them to
the god in place of those he had slaughtered, hoping
to placate him and to ensure his favour. Elephants
for their part worship the gods, whereas mankind is
in doubt whether in fact there are gods, and, if there
are, whether they take thought for us.

45 (i). The Priests of Egypt do not purify them- Beyptian
selves with water of every kind, nor even with such {72°
water as they may chance upon, but only with that ablations
from which they believe an Ibis has drunk. For
they know full well that this bird would never drink
water that was dirty or that had been tainted with
any drugs; for they believe that the bird possesses
a certain prophetic faculty, seeing that it is sacred.

(ii). learn that unwounded Elephants pick spears The
and javelins out of those that have been wounded, pe ὡὴν τ
with caution, just as though they understood the
practice of surgery and had acquired skill in these
matters.

(iii). It seems that people in olden times paid Nicknames
regard even to brute beasts in the following way.

Pyrrhus of Epirus delighted to be called * the
@ At the battle of Raphia, 217 B.c.

¢ > “-“ > 7 € “Ὁ ἐν 4
45. Ot ἐν τῇ Αὐγύπτῳ ἱερεῖς ἑαυτοὺς περιρ-
’ \ j ~
paivovow οὐ παντὶ ὕδατι, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ TH παρατυ-
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χόντι, ἀλλὰ ἐκείνῳ ἐξ οὗ πεπιστεύκασιν ort ἄρα *
εχ
ἶβις πέπωκεν. ἴσασι γὰρ κάλλιστα ὅτι μήποτ᾽
Ν / ἰν ᾽ “--
ἂν πίοι ὅ ὕδατος ἐκείνη ῥυπαροῦ καὶ λελυμασμένου
ἢ
ἔκ τινων φαρμάκων: ἔχειν γάρ τι πιστεύουσιν ἐν
ἑαυτῷ τὸ ζῷον καὶ μαντικῆς, ἅτε ἱερόν.
Δ Ἢ λ f ὃ 1 2 7 A 7 ἊΝ
ἔφαντας δὲ ἀκούω τῶν τετρωμένων τοὺς
3 ~
ἀτρώτους πεφεισμένως ἐξαιρεῖν καὶ Evora Kat
5 / , Ss
ἀκόντια, ὥσπερ οὖν χειρουργίας ἐπιστήμονας καὶ |
? n
μαθόντας τὴν ἐν τοῖσδε σοφίαν. |
Ψ \ "7 S \ tal “ »΄ ΄-- ;
Οὕτω δὲ ἄρα ἦν διὰ σπουδῆς τοῖς avw τοῦ
, \ \ Ψ{ μὰ ἫΝ > 7 3 \
χρόνου καὶ Ta ἄλογα. ἔχαιρε μὲν ἀκούων ᾿Αετὸς
ς Ἢ ᾽ὔ Tl é ς ὃ \ A ὃ Ἁ λ ‘4
6 ’Haetparns Πύρρος, ὁ δὲ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον

|
|
|
|
|

1 μεγάλους. 3 εἰ dpa γε.

4 » ’
ἄρα καὶ.

2 δεόμενος.
5B # bh] iy
ὅτι ἂν μ. πίῃ.

τόο ὃ 161
VOL. II. G

AELIAN

‘Tépag ὁ ᾿Αντίοχος. διάφορα μὲν δὴ ταῦτα καὶ
ἀθρόα εἴρηται, τῷ συνιέντι μαθεῖν ἄξια.

46. Μιθριδάτης 6 Ποντικὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φρουρὰν
καθεύδων ἐπίστευεν ἧττον καὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις καὶ
τοῖς δορυφόροις, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡμερωθέντας εἶχε
φύλακας ταῦρον καὶ ἵππον καὶ ἔλαφον. καθεύ-
δοντα οὖν ἐφρούρουν αὐτὸν οἵδε οἱ θῆρες, εἴ τις
προσίοι τάχιστα ἐκ τῆς ἀναπνοῆς αἰσθανόμενοι.
καὶ ὁ μὲν τῷ μυκήματι, ὁ δὲ τῷ χρεμετίσματι, ὁ
δὲ τῇ μηκῇ διύπνιζον αὐτόν.

47. Τῶν ἀγρίων ξῴων τὰ ἔκγονα τὰ νέα διαφό-
: / a
pws ὀνομάζεται, Kat τά ye πλείω διπλῆν τὴν
ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχει. λεόντων γοῦν σκύμνοι καὶ λεοντι-
ὃ “. 9 ta ¢ 3 é εξ Β f
εἷς ὀνομάζονται, ws ᾿Αριστοφάνης ὃ Βυζάντιος
μαρτυρεῖ, παρδάλεων δὲ σκύμνοι τε καὶ ἄρκηλοι"
εἰσὶ δὲ οἵ φασι γένος ἕτερον τῶν παρδάλεων Τοὺς
3 λ s θ Lae ὃ ‘ / 2. ; - λ κι
ἀρκήλους εἶναι. θώων δὲ μόνον 3 σκύμνοι φιλοῦσι
- ~ > . ᾿ #:
καλεῖσθαι, Kal Tiypewy ὁμοίως, Kal μυρμήκων ὃ
δὲ καὶ πανθήρων. ἔοικε δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν λυγκῶν *
΄- “a ‘4
ἔκγονα ὁμοίως ὀνομάζεσθαι. ἐν γοῦν τοῖς Λάσου
,
λεγομένοις Διθυράμβοις οὕτως εὑρίσκεται ὅ εἰρη-
A ? ‘ ~ λ 4 6 θ 4 ὃ 4
μένον τὸ βρέφος τὸ τῆς AvyKos.° πιθήκων OE

_1 Jac: εἰρήσεται. 2 Gow: μόνοι MSS, H.
stp} μ :

3 μυρμήκων corrupt ? Ges, 4 Jac: λυγγῶν. ᾿
5 εὑρίσκεται σκύμνος. 6 Jac: λυγγός. ᾿

α Younger son of Antiochus I, whom he succeeded 245.B.c. ;
driven out of Asia Minor and killed in Egypt 227 B.c. Justin.
27. 2 “ Hierax’ est cognominatus, quia non hominis sed
accipiiris ritu in alienis diriprendis vitam sectaretur.

162

ON ANIMALS, VII. 45-47

Eagle,’ and Antiochus, so it is said, to be called ‘ the
Hawk.’¢ J have mentioned these cases together,
different though they are; an intelligent man will
find them worth knowing. :

46. Mithridates of Pontus® when asleep was

unwilling to entrust his own safety to weapons and
‘spearmen, and for that reason he kept as body-

guard a bull, a horse, and a stag that had been
tamed. Accordingly these animals guarded him
while he slept, and if ever anyone approached they
at once perceived it by his breathing. And they
would wake the King, the bull by bellowing, the
horse by neighing, and the stag by bleating.

47. The young offspring of wild animals have
different appellations, and the majority at any rate
have two names. The young of Lions, for instance,
are called σκύμνοι and λεοντιδεῖς, as Aristophanes

of Byzantium testifies; and of Leopards, σκύμνοι

Mithridates,
his body-
guard

Names for
the young
of Animals

and ἄρκηλοι, although there are those who assert Ὁ

that ἄρκηλοι are a different kind of leopard. But
the young of Jackals are habitually called σκύμνοι
only; and the same with Tigers and Ants*® and
Panthers. And it appears that the young of Lynxes
are similarly spoken of; at any rate in the Dithyrambs,
as they are called, of Lasus we find the young of a

lynx spoken of in this way. We hear too of the

σκύμνοι and also of the πιθηκιδεῖς of Monkeys, and of

> Mithridates VI, Eupator, 2nd/Ist cent. B.c., Rome’s most
formidable adversary in the East; defeated at length by
Pompey, 65 B.C.
-¢ Perhaps μύρμηξ is here to be interpreted as ‘marmot’;
see Hdt. 3. 102 with the commentators ad loc. ce ἢ

163

AELIAN

ἀκούομεν σκύμνους τε καὶ πιθηκιδεῖς τοὺς αὐτούς,

,ὔ A 7 ς > \ ‘ > ὁ >
βουβαλίδων δὲ πώλους: ‘et δὲ καὶ ὀρύγων, οὐκ
ba! 7 3 e ἢ, Ὁ Ν > 7 é
ἂν θαυμάσαιμι, 6 αὐτὸς ᾿Δριστοφάνης φησί.
«κυνῶν δὲ καὶ λύκων σκύλακες καλοῖντο ἄν, ἢ
δ᾽ ὅς: ἤδη δὲ καὶ λυκιδεῖς καλοῦνται οἱ τῶν
λύκων, ὁ δὲ τέλειος καὶ μέγιστος καλοῖτο ἂν

μονόλυκος. τῶν γε μὴν λαγῶν Aaydeis: ὁ δὲ.

5 ΟῚ 2 3 4 λ a > 7 . he
τέλειος, πτῶκα 5. αὐτὸν φιλοῦσιν ὀνομάζειν οἱ
> ,
ποιηταί, ταχίναν δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. ἁλωπέκων
4 \ Ba 3 - 7 3 Ἁ 4 ¢
δὲ τὰ ἔκγονα ἀλωπεκιδεῖς κέκληνται: αὐτὴ δὲ ἡ
᾿ Α i
μήτηρ καὶ κερδὼ καὶ σκαφώρη καὶ σκινδαφός.
~~ ~ 7
τῶν δὲ ἀγρίων ὑῶν τὰ τέκνα μολόβρια ὀνομάζου-
~ ἃ
ow: ἀκούσειας δ᾽ ἂν τοῦ ᾿ἱππώνακτος καὶ αὐτὸν
τὸν ὧν μολοβρίτην που λέγοντος. καλοῦνται δὲ
~ ~ 4
καὶ τῶν ὑῶν joviar τινές. τἄς γε μὴν δορκάδας
tA ~
καὶ CopKas καὶ πρόκας εἰώθασιν ὀνομάζειν. τῶν
δὲ ὑστρίχων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ὃ τὰ ἔκγονα
wv 4 Xr ~ Ἃ : f E 3 ὃ >
ὄβρια ἃ καλεῖται: Kal μέμνηται ye Lupimions ἐν
4 ~ 3 f 4 3 F >’ .3 δος χὰ
Πελιάσι τοῦ ὀνόματος καὶ Αἰσχύλος ἐν ᾿Αγαμέμ-
~ ~~ » é ᾿ Α
νονι καὶ Δικτυουλκοῖς. τὰ δὲ τῶν ὀρνίθων καὶ
-~ i “οι Ἀ
τὰ τῶν ὄφεων καὶ τὰ τῶν κροκοδίλων ἔνιοι καὶ
΄-- Ὄ ,ὔ
Ψψακάλους καλοῦσιν, ὧν εἰσι καὶ Θετταλοί. τὰ
4 ? > 7 3 ͵ +) /
δὲ πρόσφατα ὀρνύφια ὀρταλίχους, ἀλεκτρυόνων τε
Ἁ 6 5 ὃ a4 λ , 8 \ > an
νεοττοὺς ὃ ἀλεκτοριδεῖς έγουσι,8 καὶ avd πάλιν
χηνιδεῖς καὶ χηναλωπεκιδεῖς καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια
κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ σχηματίζουσιν. ᾿Αχαῖος δὲ ὁ τῆς
1 gv μὲν δή.
3 καὶ πτῶκα.
8 τοιούτων ἀγρίων.
4 ὀβρίκαλα Valek.
5 rq δὲ τῶν ὀρνίθων ...
ww ~ 4 4 ~ 3
ἔμβρυα καλοῦσι, τὰ δὲ τῶν ὁ...
ψ. Ks

164

“ ‘ Lou 3 = Yl ᾧ
καλοῦσιν] τὰ δὲ Ere ἐν TH γαστρὶ
. κροκοδείλων ἔνιοι ἔμβρυα καὶ

ON ANIMALS, VII. 47

the πῶλοι of Antelopes, ‘ And I should not be sur-
prised if we heard of the πῶλοι of Gazelles also’ says
the same Aristophanes. ‘But the young of Dogs
and Wolves would be called cxvAakes’hesays. And
young wolves are in fact also called λυκιδεῖς, where-
as a full-grown wolf of the largest size would be called
μονόλυκος. The young of Hares are λαγιδεῖς, but a
fully grown Hare poets like to callarw€ ; the Spartans,
ταχίνας. The young of Foxes are called ἀλωπεκιδεῖς,
while their mother is called κερδώ and oxadwpn and
σκινδαφός. Men call the young of Wild Swine
μολόβρια, and you may hear Hipponax in some
passage [ fr. 68 D] speaking of an actual Boar as
μολοβρίτης. And there are certain Pigs that are
called poviat. People habitually call Gazelles
ζόρκες and mpoxes. And the young of Porcupines
and similar creatures are called 68p1a; the word is ©
mentioned by Euripides in his Pehades [ fr. 616 N]
and by Aeschylus in his Agamemnon and _ his.
Dictyules [| fr. 48 N]. But the young of Birds and of
Snakes and of Crocodiles are called ψάκαλοι by some,
among whom are the people of Thessaly. And
people call little new-hatched birds ὀρτάλιχοι, and
the young of chickens ἀλεκτοριδεῖς ; and again they
speak of χηνιδεῖς and χηναλωπεκιδεῖς and form words
like them on the same principle. But Achaeus the

* At Ag. 143 Aesch. wrote ὀβρικάλοισι, it was therefore in
the Dict. that he must have written ὄβρια.

62 , .
ὀρταλίχους ΣΝ νεοττούς νεοττοὺς καὶ ὀρταλίχους ἀλεκτρυό-
νων τε ἀλεκτορίδας.
7 Valck: ἁλεκτορίδας.

f i 4 ’, é + ,
8 λέγουσι: καὶ τόν γε πέρυσιν ὀνομάζουσιν ὡς καὶ τὸν οἶνον.,

165

AELIAN

id 4 4 A ~ ,
τραγῳδίας ποιητὴς τὸν νεοττὸν τῆς χελιδόνος
μόσχον ὠνόμασεν.

as 4 nA
48. Μνήμην δὲ παρακολουθεῖν καὶ τοῖς ζῴοις,
~ ΄“ : Ἀ ~
καὶ ἴδιον αὐτῶν καὶ τοῦτο εἶναι χωρὶς τῆς ἐς
/ a
αὐτὴν τέχνης τε Kal σοφίας, ἣν τερατευόμενοί
~ “ 3 “
τινες ἐπινοῆσαι κομπάζουσι, τεκμηριοῖ καὶ ἐκεῖνα.
~ n~ 7 Fond
τὸν δεσπότην ὄντα τῶν ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαίων βουλῆς
> 7 3 av" > 2 \ , ?
ἀπέδρα ᾿Ανδροκλῆς ὄνομα, οἰκέτης THY τύχην, ὁ
τι κακουργήσας καὶ ἡλίκον οὐκ οἶδα εἰπεῖν. ἧκε
3 > 2 Ἂ [4 ῖ ‘ 4 ? 3 i
δ᾽ οὖν ἐς τὴν Λιβύην, καὶ τὰς μὲν πόλεις ἀπελίμ-
πανε, καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ λεγόμενον ἄστροις αὐτὰς
: 3 7
ἐσημαίνετο, προΐει δὲ ἐς τὴν ἐρήμην. φρυγόμενος
ὃ 1 #4 MI ιν Τ 5, 7 a > A
é ὑπὸ πολλῆς (και) ὀδιαπύρου τῆς ἀκτῖνος,
ἀσμένως ὕπαντρόν τινα πέτραν ὑποδραμὼν ἡσύ-
7 ‘ 3; / ¢ ¢ 7 “3.
yale λέοντος δὲ ἄρα κοίτη ἣδε ἡ πέτρα ἢν.
9 ’ὔ ,ὔ > ? ¢ 7 7 ?
ἐπάνεισι τοίνυν ἐκ θήρας 6 λέων, σκόλοπι βιαίῳ
περιπαρεὶς καὶ κολαζόμενος, καὶ ἐντυχὼν τῷ
7 / ,
νεανίᾳ εἶδεν αὐτὸν πράως, καὶ σαίνειν ἤρξατο, καὶ
3 -
προύτεινε τὸν πόδα, καὶ ἐδεῖτο ὡς ἠδύνατο
> “--Ὕ 4 5A. ἐν ὃ 4 4 Ἁ ~ 2
ἐξαιρεθῆναι τὸν σκόλοπα. ὁ 0€ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα
ξ΄" -- >
κατέπτηξεν: ἐπεὶ δὲ πρᾶον τὸν θῆρα ἐθεάσατο
Α 4 \ \ la ~ 7 9 κι 4
καὶ τὸ κατὰ τὸν πόδα συνεῖδε πάθος, ἐξεῖλε TO
~ “~ f A nn 50. 7 3 ,ὔ
λυποῦν τοῦ ποδός, καὶ τῆς ὀδύνης ἀπήλλαξεν.
ξ 4 > ~ 7 6 ‘4 > aft e¢ 63 /
ἡσθεὶς οὖν TH θεραπείᾳ ὁ λέων ἰατρεῖά οἱ ἐκτίνων
, > # \ 7 4 Ὄ 3 7 3 é
ξένον τε ἐνόμιζε καὶ φίλον, καὶ ὧν ἐθῆρα ἐκοινώ-
νει. καὶ 6 μὲν ἐσιτεῦτο ὠμὰ ἧ λεόντων νόμος, ὁ
δὲ ἑαυτῷ Sara: καὶ κοινῆς ἀπέλαυον τραπέζης
“1 xai> add. Η.
166

2 πρῶτα καίτοι θανάτου δεόμενος.

er
=a

= 1
vee ERS ἕ
i see

a

ON ANIMALS, VII. 47-48

tragic poet called the young of the Swallow μόσχος

Lfr. 47 N}.

48. That memory is an attribute even of animals, Androcles

and that this is a characteristic acquired without
the system and science of mnemonics which certain
wonder-workers claim to have invented, the follow-
ing facts demonstrate. One Androcles by name,
who happened to be a slave in the household of
a Roman senator, ran away from his master after
committing some offence, the nature and extent
of which I am unable to state. Well, he arrived
in Libya and was for avoiding towns and, as the
saying is, ‘marked their places only by the stars’
and went on into the desert. And being parched
by the excessive and fiery heat of the sun, he was
glad to take refuge and to rest under a caverned
rock. This rock, it seems, was the lair of a Lion.
Now the Lion returned from hunting, injured from
having been pierced with a sharp stake, and when
it encountered the. young man it looked at him
in a gentle manner and began to fawn upon him,
extending its paw and imploring him as best it could
to have the stake plucked out. Androcles at first
shrank back. But when he saw that the beast was
in gentle mood, and realised what was the matter
with its paw, he extracted what was hurting it and
rid the Lion of its pain. The Lion therefore in joy
at being healed paid him his fee by treating him as

its guest and friend, and shared with him the spoils

of its chase. And while the Lion ate its food raw,

as is the custom of lions, Androcles used to cook his

for himself. And they enjoyed a common table each
@ Cp. 2. 7.

167

AELIAN

~ 7 ᾿ ~*~ 4
κατὰ φύσιν τὴν αὑτοῦ ἑκάτερος. καὶ τριῶν μὲν
> -” Ἁ i “-μ ὃ ὔ ς 7 he ὃ λῇ :
ἐτῶν τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ιεβίωσεν ὁ ᾿Ανδροκλῆς
5 ~ \ > - ,
εἶτα ὑπεράγαν κουριῶν καὶ ὀδαξησμῷ βιαίῳ

5 7 ¢ 4
κατειλημμένος τὸν μὲν λέοντα ἀπολιμπάνει, ἑαυτὸν
-" 4
δὲ μεθίησι τῇ τύχῃ. εἶτα ἀλώμενον αὐτὸν συλλα-
3 4 t ~
Bovres καὶ ὅτου εἴη πυθόμενοι ἐς τὴν “Ῥώμην τῷ
e 4 773 @
δεσπότῃ δήσαντες ἀποπέμπουσιν. 6 δὲ ἐφ᾽ οἷς
> ᾽ὔ 3 é 4 3 / λ ra
ἠδικήθη εὐθύνει τὸν οἰκέτην, καὶ κατεγνώσθη
> “-ς 7 δ Fond > 7 7
ἐκεῖνος θηρίοις βορὰ παραδοθῆναι. ἐθηράθη δέ
Α ξ i 3 ΄-» ‘a 4 3 7 > “--
πως καὶ ὁ Λίβυς ἐκεῖνος λέων καὶ ἀφείθη ἐν τῷ
θεάτρῳ, καὶ ὁ νεανίας δὲ ὡς ἀπολούμενος O ποτε
“- ΄ 7
αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ τῷ λέοντι σύνοικός τε καὶ σύσκηνος
>
γεγενημένος. καὶ 6 μὲν ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἐγνώρισε
“~ κ᾿. ~ > a ‘
τὸν θῆρα, ἐκεῖνος δὲ παραχρῆμα ἀνέγνω Tov
i 4
ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἔσαινεν αὐτόν, καὶ ὑποκλίνας τὸ
~ “- - > f 4
πᾶν σῶμα ἔρρυπτό οἱ παρὰ τοῖς ποσίν. ὀψὲ δὲ
A ¢ 2 ΄“ > 7 4 e “-Η ,
καὶ ὃ ᾿Ανδροκλῆς ἐγνώρισε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἕένον,
\ A 4 7 [ tra ε “- >
καὶ περιλαβὼν τὸν λέοντα ὡς Ἤκοντα εταῖρον ἐξ
> ? fa 9 4 A > ? f
ἀποδημίας κατησπάζετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐδόκει γόης,
9 60 1 e 4 f ὃ λ ¢ 7 ὃ \ > ~ >] 4
ἐφείθη 1 of Kat πάρδαλις. oppwons Oe αὑτῆς ἐπὶ
4 3 7 ξ 7 > 7 on 3
τὸν ᾿Ανδροκλέα, 6 λέων ἀμύνων τῷ ποτε ἰασα-
~ é ~ \
μένῳ, Kal κοινῆς τραπέζης μεμνημένος διασπᾷ τὴν
πάρδαλιν. οἷα τοίνυν εἰκὸς of θεώμενοι ἐκπλήτ-
; a”: >
τονται, καὶ 6 διδοὺς τὰς θέας καλεῖ τὸν Ανδροκλέα,
-- ‘ as > ; on
Kat τὸ πᾶν μανθάνει. Kat θροῦς ἐς τὸ πλῆθος
“ 4 \ \ € “".Ἅ ? ? ͵ ;
διαρρεῖ, καὶ τὸ σαφὲς 6 δῆμος μαθόντες ἐλευθέρους
3 a! > “ 4 4 3 4 A ? ἢ
ἐκβοῶσιν ἀφεῖσθαι καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τὸν λέοντα.
” ‘ “A f 1 ὃ } \ Oy
ἴδιον δὴ τῶν ζῴων Kal ἡ μνήμη. Kat συνῳδὸν
΄ >
τοῖς προειρημένοις καὶ ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ δέ ἐστιν
168

ON ANIMALS, VII. 48

as was his nature. And this was how Androcles
lived for the space of three years. After a time, as
his hair grew to an excessive length and he was
troubled with a violent itching, he forsook the Lion
and trusted himself to fortune. Then as he was
wandering about he was caught, questioned as to
whom he belonged to, and sent bound to his master
in Rome. The master punished his servant for the
injury he had done him and he was condemned to be
given to the wild beasts to eat. It chanced that the
same Libyan lion had also been caught and was let
loose in the arena together with the young man
destined for death, him who had shared that very
Lion’s home and dwelling. The man for his part
did not know the Lion again, but the animal imme-
diately recognised the man, fawned upon him, and
letting its whole body sink down, threw itself at
his feet. And at last Androcles recognised his host
and throwing his arms round it, greeted it like a
comrade returned after absence. But as he was
thought to be a magician; a leopard also was let
loose upon him. And when it rushed at Androcles
the Lion came to the rescue of its former healer
and remembering how they used to feed together,
tore the leopard to pieces. The spectators, as was
natural, were dumbfounded, and the man who was
giving the shows summoned Androcles and learnt
the whole story. And the report spread through
the multitude, and the populace on learning the
truth shouted aloud that both man and Lion must
be set free. Memory is indeed one of the attributes
of animals.

And there is a corresponding story to the same

1 ἀφείθη.

169

a)

AELIAN

+ εὕὔδοντος ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ κεχηνότος Διονύ-
cout! νομίζοιτο ἂν καὶ τὸ φωλιὸν εἰδέναι. καὶ
τοῦτο ἀκουέτω ᾿Ἐρατοσθένους τε καὶ Eddopiwvos
καὶ ἄλλων περιηγουμένων αὐτό. πον

1 εὕδοντος . . . Διονύσου corrupt.

170

oan p ANN etal τον As anpcAmnameninnmls ay, yi

ON ANIMALS, VIL. 48

effect as the above . . . in Samos in front of Dionysus
of the Open Mouth .. ., might be thought to
know the lair also. For this too he must consult
Eratosthenes, Euphorion, and others who narrate it.

4 The passage is corrupt. The reference is to the story
recorded by Pliny (HN 8. 57) of one Elpis of Samos who
relieved a suffering lion, of how it showed its gratitude, and
how Elvis dedicated a temple to Dionysus who had saved him.

ante Neue RnR Re TTR NET το τ πέντ ηπκετ τε κνευνησκας ~ A κυσὶ

BOOK VIII.

ππσυτένος, ERAN yt

"

1. Ἰνδικοὶ λόγοι διδάσκουσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐκεῖνα.

τὰς κύνας ἄγουσιν ἐς τὰ ἔνθηρα χωρία. οἱ θηρατικοὶ

τὰς εὐγενεῖς τε καὶ ἴχνη καταγνῶναι θηρίων
ἀγαθὰς καὶ ὠκίστας ἐς δρόμον, καὶ τοῖς δένδροις
'προσδήσαντες εἶτα μέντοι ἀπαλλάττονται, τοῦτο
δήπου τὸ λεγόμενον ἀτεχνῶς κύβον ἀναρρίψαντες.
ot δὲ τίγρεις ἐντυχόντες αὐταῖς, ἀθηρίᾳ μὲν καὶ

λιμῷ συμπεσόντες διασπῶσιν αὐτάς: ἐὰν δὲ
3 “Ἀ 3 i 7
ὀργῶντες ἀφίκωνται καὶ κεκορεσμένοι, συμπλέ-.

/ - 4 “~ > ? on
KovTat τε αὐταῖς καὶ τῆς ἀφροδίτης ἐν πλησμονῇ
- mn ?
Kal ἐκεῖνοι μέμνηνται. ἐκ δὲ τῆς ὁμιλίας ταύτης
> , 4 3 Ἁ f 7 > V
οὐ κύων φασὶν ἀλλὰ τίγρις τίκτεται. EK δὲ
/
τούτου καὶ κυνὸς θηλείας ἔτι τίγρις τεχθείη av, ὁ
\ ?
δὲ ἐκ τούτου καὶ κυνὸς ἐς τὴν μητέρα ἀποκρίνεται,

, 7 € \ A A “a Ἀ
και κατώλισθεν 7) σπόορα Προς TO XEtpov, κοι.

FA 7 A ~ > ; tl
κύων τίκτεται. πρὸς ταῦτα ᾿Αριστοτέλης οὐκ
ἀντιφήσει. οὗτοι δὲ ἄρα οἱ κύνες, οἷς πάρεστι
πατέρα αὐχεῖν τίγριν, ἔλαφον μὲν θηρᾶσαι ἣ συὶ
συμπεσεῖν ἀτιμάζουσι, χαίρουσι δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς

‘ 7 ~
λέοντας arrovres καὶ τοὺς ἄνω τοῦ γένους ἀποδειικ--

4 > ~ 3 ΄ ~ ~ ?
νύντες ἐντεῦθεν. ᾿Αλεξάνδρῳ γοῦν τῷ Φιλίππου

a μι “- “~ “~ ns
πεῖραν ἔδοσαν ot “lvdoi τῆς τῶν κυνῶν τῶνδε
ἀλκῆς τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον. ἀφῆκαν ἔλαφον, καὶ ὁ
κύων ἡσύχαζεν" εἶτα σῦν, 6 δὲ ἀτρεμῶν κατέμενεν"
καὶ ἄρκτον ἐπὶ τούτοις, καὶ ἔκνιζεν αὐτὸν <>?
4 9O\ ὦ 7 Ἁ > ? ¢ \ ¢
ἄρκτος οὐδὲ ev’ λέοντος δὲ ἀφεθέντος, 6 δὲ ws
i io. 3 Ψ ἂλλ ὃ ΦῚ Α Φ ὃ 2
εἶδ᾽ 5 ὥς μιν μᾶλλον ἔδυ χόλος, καὶ οἷα δήπου
1 χὸν τίγριν. 2 «ἡ add. Η. 8. εἶδε.

174

ea
=

een et SYS Annan κυεντλντυσστσσποποποητ τ οοκπηε τ κευσηηεποκελμοκιος

BOOK ΠῚ

1. Indian histories teach us the following facts
also. Huntsmen take thoroughbred bitches which

_are good at tracking wild animals and are very swift

of foot to places infested by these animals; they tie
them to trees and then go away, simply, as the saying
is, trying a throw of the dice. And if tigers find them
when they have caught nothing and are famished, they
tear them to pieces. If however they arrive on heat
and full-fed they couple with the bitches, for tigers
too when gorged turn their thoughts to sexual inter-
course. From this union, so it is said, a tiger is born,
not a hound. And from this tiger and a bitch again
a tiger would be born, although the offspring of this
last and of a bitch takes after its dam, and the seed
degenerates and a hound is born. Nor will Aristotle
contradict this [HA 607 a 4, Gd 746 a 34]. Now
these hounds which can boast a. tiger for sire scorn
to pursue a stag or to face a boar, but are glad to rush
at lions and thereby to give proof of their pedigree.
At any rate the Indians gave Alexander the son of
Philip a test of the strength of these hounds in the
following manner. They let loose a stag, and the
Hound stayed quiet; then a boar, and’ it never
moved; after that a bear, but the bear caused it no
excitement whatever. But when a lion was let
loose, and : | :

‘when’ the Hound ‘ beheld it, then came wrath
upon him the fiercer ’[Hom. J/. 19. 16],

175

Indian
Hounds bred
from tigers

AELIAN

θεασάμενος τὸν ὄντως ἀντίπαλον οὔτε ἤμελλεν
οὔτε ἡτρέμει, ἀλλ᾽ ἄξας ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν εἶτα μέντοι
καρτερᾷ τῇ λαβῇ εἴχετο πιέζων καὶ ἄγχων. ὁ
τοίνυν ᾿Ινδὸς ὁ τὴν θέαν τῷ βασιλεῖ τήνδε παρέχων
κάλλιστα εἰδὼς τοῦ κυνὸς τὸ καρτερικόν, προσέ-
ταξέν οἱ τὴν οὐρὰν ἀποκοπῆναι. καὶ ἢ μὲν
ἀπεκόπτετο, ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐφρόντιζε. προσέταξεν οὖν
ὁ ᾿Ινδὸς καὶ τῶν σκελῶν ἕν ἀποκόψαι, καὶ ἀπεκόπη"
ὁ δὲ ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐνέφυ εἴχετο, καὶ οὐκ ἀνίει,
ὥσπερ οὖν ἀλλοτρίου KOTTOMEVOU σκέλους καὶ
ὀθνείου. καὶ ἄλλο ἀπεκόπτετο, καὶ τὸ δῆγμα ὃ
κύων οὐ κατελίμπανε: καὶ τρίτον ἕτερον, ὁ δὲ
εἴχετο: καὶ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνοις, καὶ ἦν
ἐγκρατὴς τοῦ δήγματος. ἔτι. καὶ τελευτῶντες
τῆς Kegan τῆς τὸ λοιπὸν σῶμα ἀφεῖλον" ὀδόντες. δὲ
ἐκείνῳ 1 ἤρτηντο τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀντιλαβῆς, καὶ ἡ
κεφαλὴ ἠωρεῖτο μετέωρος ἐκ τοῦ λέοντος, αὐτοῦ
μέντοι τοῦ δακόντος js οὐκέτι ὄντος. ᾿Αλέξανδρος
οὖν ἐνταῦθα ἡνιῶτο, τὸν κύνα ἐκπλαγεὶς ὅτι ἄρα
πεῖραν ἑαυτοῦ δοὺς 8 εἶτα ἀπωλώλει," TO ἐναντίον
τοῖς δειλοῖς παθών, θάνατον δὲ ὁ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀνδρείας
ἠλλάξατο. ἰδὼν οὖν ὁ ᾿Ινδὸς αὐτὸν ἀνιώμενον,
τέτταρας ὁμοίους ἐκείνῳ κύνας ἔδωκέν οἱ. 6 δὲ

ἥσθη λαβὼν καὶ ἀντέδωκεν ὁποῖα ἦν εἰκὸς, καὶ

τῆς γε ἐπὶ τῷ πρώτῳ λύπης ἔλαβε λήθην ὁ τοῦ
Φιλίππου παῖς λαβὼν τοὺς τέτταρας.

2. Κύων ἀγρευτικὸς ἅπας αὐτὸς μὲν χαβὼν
θηρίον ἥδεται, καὶ “κέχρηται τῇ ἄγρᾳ ὡς ἄθλῳ,
ἐὰν αὐτῷ συγχωρήσῃ ὁ δεσπότης" εἰ δὲ μή,

1 ἐκείνῃ A, ἐκεῖνοι L, Shorey.
2 δακόντος ἐξ ἀρχῆς.

τη6

ΟΦ ΛΑΥ ΤΟΨΆΡ ἌΣ ΟΠ wate

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 1-2

and as though it had seen its real adversary, it
neither hesitated nor remained still but leapt upon
the lion and clung to it with a vigorous grip, pressing
and throttling it. So then the Indian who was
giving the King this exhibition, knowing full well the
Hound’s power of endurance, ordered the men to cut
off its tail. The tail was cut off, but the Hound paid
no heed. So the Indian ordered one of its legs to
be cut off, and cut off it was. But the Hound clung
as fast as ever, and would not let go, as though the
leg of some other creature unconnected with it were
being cut off. Then another leg was cut off and still
the Hound would not relax its bite; then a third,
and it continued to cling; and after these the fourth,
and still it was capable of biting. And finally they
severed the rest of its body from its head. But the
Hound’s fangs maintained their original grip, while
the head hung aloft on the lion, although the biter
himself was no more. At this Alexander was
grieved and amazed that the Hound in giving proof
of its mettle had perished, a fate the reverse of a
coward’s, and had met its death by reason of its
courage. Accordingly the Indian seeing Alexander's
grief, presented him with four hounds of the same
breed. And he was delighted to receive them and
gave the Indian a suitable gift inreturn. And when
the son of Philip received the four he as his
grief over the first.

2. Every Hound that is good at hunting delights The Hound's

to catch unaided a wild animal and regards the ἃ
catch as its prize, provided its master consents to

3 διδούς. 4 ἀπολώλει.

177

AELIAN

φυλάττει ζῶντα ἔστ᾽ ἂν ὁ Onparis ἀφίκηται Kat
κρίνῃ γε ὑπὲρ τοῦ ΔΉ ΦθεΥτος 6 τι καὶ ἐθέλει.
νεκρῷ δὲ ἐντυχὼν ἢ λαγῷ * ἢ συὶ οὐκ ἂν ἅψαιτο,
τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἑαυτὸν πόνοις οὐκ ἐπιγράφων,

οὐδὲ ἀξιῶν σφετερίσασθαι τὰ προσήκοντά οὗ

Heid. ἔοικε δὲ ἐκ τούτων ἔχειν τι καὶ φιλοτιμίας

ἐν ἑαυτῷ φυσικῆς" μὴ γὰρ δεῖσθαι κρεῶν, ἀλλὰ
νίκης ἐρᾶν. ἀκοῦσαι δὲ ἄξιον ὃ ὅ τι καὶ δρᾷ παρὰ
τὸν τῆς θήρας καιρὸν ὁ κύων ὁ θηρατικός. προη-
γεῖται τοῦ κυνηγέτου ἱμάντι μακρῷ προσημμένος,
καὶ ῥινηλατεῖ τῆς φωνῆς ἔχων ἐγκρατῶς.3 καὶ
ἐς ὅσον μὲν ἀθηρία ἀπαντᾷ αὐτῷ καὶ οὐδενὶ
ἐντυγχάνει, πρόεισιν ὅσα 4 ἰδεῖν καὶ τεκμήρασθαι
κατηφέστερος, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἐς τὸ πρόσω ἰὼν
ἐπάγεται τὸν θηρατὴν προθύμως τε καὶ καρτερικῶς
εὖ μάλα 6 κύων: εἰ δὲ ἰχνεύσειε ὃ καὶ ὀσμῇ
τινι προσπέσοι δ θηρίου, ἐνταῦθα ἑστηκεν. ὁ δὲ
κυνηγέτης ἔρχεται πλησίον, καὶ ὃ κύων περιχαρὴς
τῇ εὐερμίᾳ ὧν αἰκάλλει τὸν δεσπότην καὶ φιλεῖ
τὼ πόδε, καὶ πάλιν τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἰχνεύσεως
ἔχεται, καὶ πρόεισι βάδην ἐ ἔστ᾽ ἂν ἀφίκηται πρὸς
τὴν κοίτην, καὶ περαιτέρω οὐ πρόεισι. συνῆκεν
οὖν ὁ θηρατής, καὶ ὑποθωὔΐξας Onpaiver τοῖς
ἀρκυωροῖς" οὗ δὲ περιβάλλουσι τὰς ἄρκυς. καὶ
ἐνταῦθα τοῦ καιροῦ ὑλάκτησεν ὁ κύων: νοεῖ "δὲ
αὐτῷ τηνικαῦτα 7 po ἐς ἀνάστασιν τὸν σῦν
ὑποθῆξαι, ἵ ἵνα ἐκπέσῃ ἴ φεύγων καὶ τοῖς δικτύιος
καταληφθῇ. ἁλόντος δὲ τοῦ θηρός, ὁ δὲ ἐπινίκιόν

τινα οἱονεὶ παιᾶνα ἐκβοᾷ, καὶ γέγηθε καὶ σκιρτᾷ,

178

TONER MARAE ES EERE LEIS IDET IA LASSE ESSERE OEE ILE

ΤΌ sre

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 2

this. Otherwise it preserves the animal alive until
the huntsman comes up and decides what he wants
to do with the capture. But if it comes upon a dead
hare or boar it will not touch it, refusing to claim
credit for another’s labours and declining to appro-
priate what does not belong to it. From these facts
it appears to have a certain natural love of distinction :
it is not meat that it wants ; it is victory that it loves.
And it is worth hearing how the Hound behaves
when it is hunting. It goes ahead of the huntsman,
to whom it is attached by a long leash, and controlling
its bark, tracks the game by scent. And so long as no
game comes its way and it finds nothing, it goes
forward rather despondently to judge from its looks ;
for all that, it goes ahead and leads the huntsman on
with the utmost keenness and pertinacity. But if
it tracks out some beast and comes upon some scent,

then it halts. And the huntsman approaches while
the Hound overjoyed at its good luck fawns upon its
master, licks his feet, and resumes its original quest,

advancing step by step until it comes upon the lair;
further it does not go. So then the huntsman
understands and with a low call gives the signal to
the men with the nets. And they set the nets in a
ring. Thereupon the Hound barks. The intention
of its baying just then is to provoke the boar to rise
in order that he may emerge and as he flees may be
caught in the nets. And when the beast is captured,

the Hound raises a loud cry of victory, as it were a
hymn of praise, and is delighted and leaps about,

1 θέλει. ἣν : = λαγῷ τινι.
“~ Ά “-
3 ἐγκρατῶς καὶ σιωπῶν. 4 ws. .
?
5 ἰχνεύσειε τυχόν. 8 προσπέσοι που.

vi > é
ἐμπέσῃ.

170

AELIAN

¢ > 3 θ 4 1 ¢ Ne ὔ --"
ὥσπερ οὖν ἐχθροὺς + ὁπλῖται νενικηκότες. ταῦτα
2.ϑ.Ἀ “~ 4 Ny 2 ~ . Ξ

ἐπὶ συῶν καὶ ἐλάφων δρῶσιν οἱ κύνες. |

3. Χάριν δὲ dpa καὶ deAdives ἀποδοῦναι τῶν

3 ? > “~ ~
ἀνθρώπων ἦσαν δικαιότεροι, Kal TH νόμῳ τῶν.

Περσῶν ὃν ἐπαινεῖ καὶ Ξενοφῶν οὐκ ἐνέχονται.
ὃ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ἐστι. Kotpavos ὄνομα, τὸ
γένος ἐκ Πάρου, δελφίνων τινῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ
βόλῳ περιπεσόντων καὶ ἑαλωκότων, δοὺς ἀργύ-
ρίον οἱονεὶ λύτρα τοῖς ἠγρευκόσιν ἀφῆκεν αὐτοὺς
ἐλευθέρους, ἀνθ᾽ ὧν τὴν χάριν ἀπείληφεν. ἔπλει
γοῦν ποτε πεντηκόντορον ἔχων, ὡς λόγος, Μιλη-
σίους τινὰς ἄγουσαν ἄνδρας, ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ
«Νάξου καὶ» 3 Πάρου πορθμῷ τῆς νεὼς ἀνατραπεί-
ons καὶ τῶν ἄλλων διαφθαρέντων, τὸν ἸΚοίρανον
ἔσωσαν δελφῖνες, ὑπὲρ ἧς φθάσαντες εἶχον εὐεργε-
σίας τὴν ἴσην ἀντιδιδόντες. καὶ ἔνθα ἐξενήξαντο
ὀχοῦντες αὐτὸν ἄκρα δείκνυται καὶ ὕπαντρος
πέτρα, καὶ καλεῖται ὁ χῶρος Ἰζοιράνειος. χρόνῳ
δὲ ὕστερον τεθνεῶτα τόνδε τὸν Koipavov θαλάττης
πλησίον ἔκαον. εἶτα μέντοι αἰσθόμενοί ποθεν ot
δελῴφϊνες ἠθροίσθησαν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπὶ τὸ κῆδος
ἥκοντες, καὶ ἐς ὅσον ἡ πυρὰ ἐνήκμαζε 8 καομένη,
παρέμειναν ὡς φίλῳ φίλος πιστός" εἶτα μέντοι
κατασβεσθείσης οἱ δὲ ἀπενήξαντο. ἄνθρωποί γε
μὴν ζῶντάς τε καὶ πλουτοῦντας καὶ εὖ πράττειν
δοκοῦντας θεραπεύουσι, νεκροὺς δὲ ἀποστρέφονται

Σ οὗ τοὺς ἐχθρούς. |

2 «Νάξου xai> add. Wesseling.
180

8 ἤκμαζε.

|
|

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 2-3

like soldiers who have overcome their enemies. This
is what Hounds do in dealing with boars and stags.

3. Itseems that even Dolphins are more scrupulous
than men in showing their gratitude and are not con-
trolled by the Persian custom applauded by Xeno-
phon [Cyr. 1. 2. 7]. And what I have to tell is as
follows. One Coeranus by name, a native of Paros,
when some Dolphins fell into the net and were
captured at Byzantium, gave their captors money,
as it were a ransom, and set them at liberty; and
for this he earned their gratitude. At any rate he
was sailing once (so the story goes) in a fifty-oar
ship with a crew of Milesians, when the ship cap-
sized in the strait between Naxos and Paros, and
though all the rest were drowned, Coeranus was
rescued by Dolphins which repaid the good deed
that he had first done them by a similar deed. And
the headland and caverned rock to which they swam
with him on their backs are pointed out, and the spot
is called Coeraneus.. Later when this same Coeranus
died they burnt his body by the sea-shore. Where-
upon the Dolphins, observing this from some point, -
assembled as though they were attending his funeral,
and all the while that the pyre was ablaze they re-
mained at hand, as one trusty friend might remain
by another. When at length the fire was quenched
they swam away. - Ε

Men however are subservient to the wealthy and
the seemingly prosperous while they are alive, but
when dead or in misfortune they turn their backs

α The Persians punish those who could, but do not, show
their gratitude; want of gratitude they regard as the parent
of other vices.

181

AELIAN

Ἄ, \ ~ oe ; . >

ἢ καὶ δυστυχοῦντας, ἵνα μή τινα ἐκτίσωσιν εὖ
f .

παθόντες χάριν. | |

* , Ψ -
4, Ἦσαν δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἰχθύες πρᾶοί τε ἅμα καὶ
/ : \ e
χειροήθεις καὶ οἷοι Kadovpevot τε ὑπακούειν καὶ

/ >
διδόντων τροφὰς ἑτοίμως δέχεσθαι, ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ

ἐν ᾿Αρεθούσῃ ἱερὰ ἔγχελυς. τὴν Κράσσου τε τοῦ
Ῥωμαίου μύραιναν ᾷδουσιν, ἥπερ οὖν καὶ ἐνωτίοις
καὶ ὁρμίσκοις διαλίθοις ἐκεκόσμητο, οἷα δήπου
ὡραία κόρη, καὶ καλοῦντος τοῦ Κράσσου τὸ
φώνημα ἐγνώριζε, καὶ ἀνενήχετο, καὶ ὀρέγοντος
6 τι οὖν ἡ δὲ ἤσθιε προθύμως καὶ ἑτοίμως λαμ-
βάνουσα. ταύτην τοι καὶ ἔκλαυσεν 6 Ἰζράσσος,
ὡς ἀκούω, τὸν βίον καταστρέψασαν, καὶ ἔθαψε.
καί ποτε Δομετίου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰπόντος “ὦ. μωρέ,
μύραιναν , ἔκλαυσας τεθνεῶσαν ᾿, ὁ δὲ ὑπολαβὼν
ἐγὼ θηρίον ἔφατο, σὺ δὲ τρεῖς γυναῖκας θάψας
οὐκ éxdavoas’.

Αἰγυπτίων δὲ ἀκούω λεγόντων τοὺς ἱεροὺς

K δίλ εν 4 A ~ ᾿
ροκοδίλους εἶναι πράους, καὶ τῶν γε θέραπευ- —

τήρων ἐπιψαυόντων καὶ ἐπαφωμένων ὑπομένειν
καὶ κούφως φέρειν, καὶ κεχηνέναι καθιέντων
exeivwy {τὰς χεῖρας) καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας σφίσι
καθαιρόντων καὶ τὰ ἐσδυόμενα τῶν σαρκίων
ἐξαιρούντων. ἤδη μέντοι καὶ μαντικῆς μετειλη-
χέναι τοὺς προειρημένους ὃ κροκοδίλους Αἰγύπτιοί
φασι, καὶ τὸ μαρτύριον ἐκεῖνο προάγονται,

i ¢ a pF nn
Πτολεμαίου (ὁπόστος δὲ Fv οὗτος ἐκείνους
Σ κεκόσμητο. 2 «τὰς χεῖρας» add. H.

$ ' ?
TOOTLLOTEPOUS.

@ At Ortygia, in Syracuse,
182

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 3-4

upon them so as to avoid repaying them for past
favours.

4 (i). It seems that even Fishes are both tame and Tame Fishes

tractable, and when summoned can hear and are
ready to accept food that is given them, like the
sacred eel in the Fountain of Arethusa.2 And men
tell of the moray belonging to Crassus ὃ the Roman,
which had been adorned with earrings and small
necklaces set with jewels, just like some lovely
maiden; and when Crassus called it, it would
recognise his voice and come swimming up, and
whatever he offered it, it would eagerly and promptly
take and eat. Now when this fish died Crassus, so
I am told, actually mourned for it and buried it.
And on one occasion when Domitius¢ said to him
‘You fool, mourning for a dead moray!” Crassus
took him up with these words: ‘I mourned for a
moray, but you never mourned for the three wives
you buried.’

(ii). I have heard that the Egyptians assert that T

the sacred Crocodiles are tame, and if their keepers
at any rate touch and handle them they submit and.
do not object; and they keep their jaws open when
the keepers insert their hands and cleanse their
teeth and pick out bits of flesh that have got between
them. Further, the Egyptians assert that the afore-
said Crocodiles are endowed with prophecy, and
-adduce the following evidence. Ptolemy (which of

δ᾽ M. Licinius Crassus, defeated Spartacus, 73 B.¢.; triumvir
with J. Caesar and Pompey, 60 B.c.; defeated by the Parthians
at Carrhae, 53 B.c., and later slain.

¢ Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, Censor with Crassus, 92 B.C.
See Suet. Nero 2.

183

‘ame
Crocodiles

AELIAN

ἔρεσθε) καλοῦντος τὸν mpadrarov + τῶν κροκο-

κι λ ‘ > ? .

δίλων μὴ ὑπακοῦσαί φασι καὶ τροφὰς ὀρέγοντος μὴ
“Ἅ €

προσίεσθαι: συνεῖναι 5 δὲ τοὺς ἱερέας ὅτι τὸ τέλος

τῷ Πτολεμαίῳ προσιὸν εἰδὼς 6 κροκόδιλος εἶτα

f 4 ? 3 ~ Ἁ 3. Ff λ ~
μέντοι τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τροφὴν ἠτίμασε λαβεῖν.

-“ ? \ >
5. Οἰωνοῖς μαντευομένους ἀκούω τινὰς καὶ ἐπ᾽
ὄρνισι καθημένους ἐξετάζειν πτήσεις τε αὐτῶν καὶ
ἕδρας. καὶ ἄδονταί γε ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ σοφίᾳ
Τ , : ᾿ , “1.07 , Ξ
εἰρεσίαι τε καὶ Πολυδάμαντες καὶ Ἰἰολύειδοι
4 / \ Ed / ff
καὶ Θεοκλύμενοι καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί. σπλάγχνων
δὲ ἄρα θέσεις 5 καταγνῶναι δεινοὶ ἦσαν καὶ
4 A / ‘ b) la 4 3. ἃ
Σιυλανοὶ καὶ Meytoriat καὶ Βιυὐκλεῖδαι καὶ ἐπὶ
τούτοις πολὺς κατάλογος. ἀκούω μέντοι τινῶν
λεγόντων ὅτι καὶ ἀλφίτοις μαντεύονταί τινες καὶ
κοσκίνοις καὶ τυρίσκοις. πέπυσμαι δὲ καὶ κώμην
τινὰ ΔΛυκιακὴν μεταξὺ Μύρων καὶ Φελλοῦ,
Lotpa * ὄνομα, ἐν ἧ μαντεύονταί τινες ἐπ᾽ ἰχθύσι
καθήμενοι, καὶ ἴσασιν 6 τι καὶ νοεῖ ἢ τε ἄφιξις
αὐτῶν κληθέντων καὶ ἡ ἀναχώρησις, καὶ ὅταν μὴ
ξ ? ,ὔ ~ \ [2 3 4
ὑπακούσωσι τί δηλοῦσι, καὶ ὅταν ἔλθωσι πολλοὶ
τί σημαίνουσιν. ἀκούσει δὲ τὰ μαντικὰ τῶν
σοφῶν ταῦτα καὶ πηδήσαντος ἰχθύος καὶ ἀναπλεύ-
_ ἢ προτιμότερον. te
2 συνιέντας MSS, Jac retains, marking a lacuna after λαβεῖν.
3 θέσεις καὶ duces (or φέσεις).
4 Σύρραν MSS, Σιοῦραν Schn.

¢@ Polydamas, Trojan hero, Jearned divination from his
father Panthous; see Hom. 7. 12. 210.—Polyeidus; see 5. 2 ἢ.
—Theoclymenus at Hom. Od. 20. 350 foretells the downfall of
the suitors of Penelope. τ > se

184.

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ZA COWRA SEE APRS SEAM ΡΟΝ ΠΩΣ ΜΎΣΟΣ, ΚΣ

z
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ON ANIMALS, VIII. 4-5

the line it was, you must ask them) was calling to the
tamest of the Crocodiles, but it paid no attention
and would not accept the food he offered. And the
priests realised that the Crocodile knew that
Ptolemy’s end was approaching and consequently
declined to take food from him.

5. I have heard that some people practise divina- Divination

tion by birds and devote themselves to their study ᾿
and scrutinise their flight and the quarters of the sky
where they appear. And seers like Teiresias,
Polydamas,? Polyeidus, Theoclymenus and many
another are celebrated for their knowledge of this
art, while men such as Silanus,’? Megistias, nuclides

_and the long tale of their successors were skilled in

deciding upon the dispositions of entrails. Again, I
have heard people assert that some divine by means
of barley-corns, of sieves, and of small cheeses. And
I have ascertained that there is a village in Lycia
between Myra and Phellus called Sura ὁ where there
are those who devote themselves to divination by
means of fish, arid they understand what it purports
if the fish come at their call or withdraw, and what it
signifies if they pay no attention, and what it portends
if they come in numbers. And you shall hear these
prophetic utterances of the sages when a fish leaps
out of the water or comes floating up from the

» Silanus of Ambracia, soothsayer to Cyrus II; see Xen. An.
1. 7. 18.—Megistias claimed descent from Melampus; died
fighting at the battle of Thermopylae of which he had foretold
the issue; see Hdt. 7. 221, 228.—Euclides of Phlius divined
Xenophon’s lack of money and advised him to sacrifice to
Zeus:the Merciful; see Xen. An. 7. 8. 1.

¢ A few miles W of Myra on the sea-coast.

185

AELIAN

> θ “αὶ 4 4 cae 4 >
σαντος ἐκ βυθοῦ καὶ τροφὴν προσεμένου Kat αὖ
πάλιν μὴ λαβόντος. |

6. Ἦν δὲ dpa edyeipwra καὶ αἱρεῖν ῥᾷστα ὄνοι
A a ? a ? 4 ἐς 7 “a
μὲν τοῖς λύκοις, Tots μέροψι δὲ at μέλιτται, ταῖς
4 7 ε 4 “A Ἁ 3 7 ε
γε μὴν χελιδόσιν ot τέττιγες, τοῖς δὲ ἐλάφοις οἱ
+ ς 7 4 δ “ ~ 3 a Y ‘ “" .
ὄφεις. ἡ πάρδαλις δὲ αἱρεῖ τῇ ὀσμῇ " τὰ πλεῖστα,
καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τὸν πίθηκον.

7. Μεγασθένους ἀκούω λέγοντος περὶ τὴν τῶν
~ ᾽ ~
Ἰνδῶν θάλατταν γίνεσθαί τι ἰχθύδιον, Kat τοῦτο
μὲν ὅταν ζῇ ἀθέατον εἶναι, κάτω που νηχόμενον
A > »- > 4 \ 3 ~ a 4
καὶ ἐν βυθῷ, ἀποθανὸν δὲ ἀναπλεῖν. οὗ τὸν
. ; ~ > ,
ἁψάμενον ἐκθνήσκειν ὃ τὰ πρῶτα, εἶτα μέντοι καὶ
> θ 7 ; A ὃ A ‘i: ὃ 4 , ‘
ἀποθνήσκειν. τὸν δὲ χέλυδρον * πατήσας τις καὶ
3 4 ? e > 4 7 > “-
εἰ μὴ δηχθείη, ὡς Ἀπολλόδωρός φησιν ἐν τῷ
΄“ 3
Θηριακῷ λόγῳ, ἀποθνήσκει > πάντως- ἔχειν γάρ

i ‘ 4 ? “~ 7 3. of
τι. σηπτικὸν καὶ THY μόνην τοῦ ζῴου ἐπίψαυσιν
λέγει. καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν πειρώμενον θεραπεύειν
“ ~ >
καὶ ἐπικουρεῖν ἁμωσγέπως τῷ ἀποθνήσκοντι
n i > ~
φλυκταίνας ἴσχειν ἐν ταῖς χερσίν, ἐπεὶ μόνον τοῦ
΄᾽ , 3 , ’ ?
πατήσαντος προσέψαυσεν. ᾿Αριστόξενος δέ πού
- ld “-
φησιν ἄνδρα ταῖς χερσὶν ὄφιν τινὰ ἀποκτεῖναι καὶ
\ , Ld 6 3 θ “ " Ἀ > “~
μὴ δηχθέντα ὅμως ὁ ἀποθανεῖν. καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα
ὃ \ ᾿] “~ A 3 ~ v4 4 ld > fF
ἐ αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἔτυχε φορῶν ὅτε τὸν ὄφιν ἀνήρει,
~ \ f
καὶ ἐκείνην σαπῆνανι οὐ μετὰ μακρόν.

8. ᾿Αμφισβαίνης δὲ τὴν δορὰν βακτηρίᾳ περι-
κειμένην ἐλαύνειν λέγει Νίκανδρος τοὺς ὄφεις
186

Dee aren aecdaae ata ea tee tan acca hka seca -

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 5-8

depths, and when it accepts the food or on the
other hand rejects it.

6. It seems that donkeys are easily overcome and Hunters and
seized by wolves, and bees by bee-eaters, cicadas by “”
swallows, and snakes by deer. And the leopard
captures most animals, especially the monkey, by
its odour.

7. From Megasthenes I learn that a small fish Animals
occurs in the Indian Ocean, and that when alive it Bspnous ὅο
is invisible, since presumably it swims down in the
depths, but that when dead it floats to the surface.

Anyone who touches it faints to begin with and later

on dies. And if one treads upon the chelydrus even

without being bitten, as Apollodorus says in. his work
Of Poisonous Animals, death is inevitable. For he
says that mere contact with the creature produces
sepsis. And what is more, if anyone tries to ad-
minister medical treatment or help of any kind to
the dying man he gets blisters on his hands, simply
from having touched the man who trod on the snake.
And Aristoxenus says somewhere that a man killed
a snake with his hands and, though unbitten died
notwithstanding. And his very clothes which he
happened to be wearing at the time when he slew
the snake, turned in a short while to putrefaction.

8. Nicander asserts that the slough of the Am- The Amphis-
phisbaena if wrapped round a walking-stick drives alae

5. Jac: θεωμένη. ᾿
4 OSchn: χέρσυδρον.
8 ὅμως θιγόντα.

1 ἐκ βυθοῦ] δοίην :- νεκροῦ.

83 A θ "A \ 3 8 _
εὐποθυμεῖν καὶ ἐκθν-.

5 Ges: ἀποθνήσκειν.

137

AELIAN

ὔ A \ of ~ iva 4 # \
πάντας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ζῷα, ὅσα μὴ δακόντα μὲν
παΐσαντα δὲ ἀναιρεῖ.

ἊΝ,

9, Κύων ὑπὸ πλήθους ὀχλούμενος οἶδε πόαν ἐν

- ¢ a e >
ταῖς αἱμασιαῖς φυομένην, ἧσπερ οὖν γευσάμενος
ἐμεῖ πᾶν τὸ λυποῦν μετὰ φλέγματος καὶ χολῆς,
€ “ 4 > ΜᾺ \ ~ 7 Ed
ὑποχωρεῖ δὲ αὐτῷ Kat τῶν σκυβάλων πάμπολλα
καὶ πορίζει σωτηρίαν ἑαυτῷ, δεηθεὶς ἰατρῶν

/ f. ἢ
συμμάχων οὐδὲ ἕν. καὶ μελαίνης μέντοι χολῆς
3 i ~ S ’ὔ
ἐκκρίνει πλῆθος, ἥπερ οὖν μείνασα λύτταν ἐργάζε-
\ ὔ, > 4 ¢ ,ὔ 3

ται κυσὶ νόσημα ἀργαλέον. ἐἑλμίνθων δὲ πεπλη-
ρωμένοι τοῦ σίτου τοὺς ἀθέρας ἐσθίουσιν, ὡς
7A “λ λ “ θ f \ v : ‘

ριστοτέλης λέγει. τρωθέντες δὲ ἔχουσι τὴν

»". f ny >
γλῶτταν φάρμακον, ἧπερ οὖν περιλιχμώμενοι τὸ

Ἁ 7

τρωθὲν μέρος ἐς ὑγίειαν ἐπανάγουσιν, ἐπίδεσμα
καὶ σπληνία καὶ κράσεις φαρμάκων μακρὰ 1

f 3 7 2 7 ὃ \ + 3 ~ Ἵ “
χαίρειν εἰπόντες.3 κύνα δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖνο οὐ διαλέλη-
θ oe ἢ cal rb 3 ¢ \ \ \ Os
εν, OTL ἄρα THS μελίας T° O καρπὸς τοὺς μεν US

/ “~ “-
πιαίνει, αὐτῷ δὲ ἄλγημα ἰσχίου προξενεῖ: καὶ
e - ,ὔ ἴω Ὁ
ὁρῶν ἐμφορουμένην τοῦ προειρημένου τὴν by,
> “ιν ~ lan ~
ἀφίσταται αὐτῇ πάνυ ἐγκρατῶς Kat τοῦ δοκοῦντος
τ ) 7 \ ~ ᾿
ἡδέος. ἄνθρωποι δὲ τῶν πειθόντων ἄκοντας
, x A τ
ἐσθίειν ἡττῶνται πολλάκις πάνυ ἀκρατῶς.

10. Οὐκ ἄν ποτε ῥᾳδίως τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ἐνέδρα
7 ΄- »
λάθοι. ὅταν γοῦν * γένωνται τῆς τάφρου πλησίον,
Al ~
ἣν εἰώθασιν ὑπορύττειν ot θηρῶντες αὐτούς, εἴτε

1 Cobet: μακράν Mss, H. 2 ἀπολιπόντες.
3 μελίας corrupt. 4 οὖν.

188

set 5 ueASSRAL th A SSSI REALE AH EES NDI:
ΤῸ
3

παν δνοοζροίαφοθανυνεν 22temssetne Santos Beatle.

ΝΥ ὦ

>
ΜΉ ee PM ULEL LASSE NALS EMEC BURRIS ρα

eh EAL AAP CAA ORE VUES EC 0 WELL AIIELEN EDD SALE ED BEADS AN SEO

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 8-10

away all snakes and other creatures which kill not
by biting but by striking.*

9. A Dog burdened with a full stomach knows of a
herb that grows on dry stone walls, and if he eats it
he vomits all that is paining him, mixed with phlegm
and bile, and a great deal of excrement also passes
off; so he restores his health without any need of
medical assistance. Further, he voids a quantity of
black bile which if retained causes madness, a trouble-
some disease in Dogs. And when infected by worms
Dogs eat the awns of corn, according to Aristotle
[HA 612 a 31]. When wounded they have their
tongue as a medicine, and with their tongue they lick
the wounded place and restore it to a healthy con-

dition; bandages, compresses, and the compounding

of medicines they scorn. And another thing which
Dogs have not failed to observe is that the fruit of
the ... fattens swine indeed but causes Dogs a
pain in their haunches. And though a Dog may
see a sow gorging itself with the aforesaid fruit,
with great self-control it leaves it to the sow for all
its seeming sweetness. Men however yield to those
who prevail upon them to eat against their will, often

to an altogether immoderate degree.

10. Elephants would not easily fail to notice an

ambush. For instance, when they come near to the

pit which elephant-hunters are in the habit of

@ Nicander (Th. 373-83) says no more than that it is good
for chilblains. The discrepancy is explained by Wellmann
(Hermes 26. 335), who considers that Ael. was copying some
work based upon Apollodorus in which Nic. was mentioned,
and that he mistakenly ascribed to N. a statement made by A.

189

The Dog and
its medicines

An Elephant

hunt

AKLIAN

ἐννοίᾳ τινὶ φυσικῇ εἴτε. μαντικῇ ναὶ μὰ Δία
ἀπορρήτῳ τοῦ μὲν περαιτέρω χωρεῖν ἀναστέλ-
λονταῖι, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ ἐπιστρέψαντες εἶτα μέντοι ὡς
ἐν πολέμῳ. ἀνθίστανται μάλα καρτερῶς, καὶ ἀνατρέ-
spo πειρῶνται τοὺς θηρατὰς καὶ δι' αὐτῶν
ὠσάμενοι φυγῇ πορίσασθαι τὴν σωτηρίαν, κρείτ-
TOUS γενόμενοι τῶν ἀντιπάλων. γίνεται τοίνυν
ἐνταῦθα τοῦ καιροῦ μάχη καρτερὰ καὶ φόνος καὶ
τῶν καὶ τῶν. ὃ μέντοι τρόπος τῆσδε τῆς μάχης
τοιοῦτός ἐστιν. οἱ μὲν ἄνθρωποι δόρατα ἰσχυρὰ *
ἀφιᾶσι στοχαζόμενοι αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ ἐλέφαντες τὸν
παραπεσόντα ἁρπάζουσι, καὶ τῇ γῇ προσαράξαντες
πατοῦντές τε καὶ τοῖς κέρασι τιτρώσκοντες
οἰκτίστῳ περιβάλλουσι τέλει 3 καὶ ἀλγεινοτάτῳ.
ἐπίασι δὲ οἱ θῆρες ὑ ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ τὰ ὦτα ἐκπεταν-
νύντες ὡς ἱστία δίκην τῶν στρουθῶν τῶν μεγάλων,
αἵπερ οὖν τὰς πτέρυγας ἁπλώσασαι ἢ φεύγουσιν
7 ἐπίασιν" ἐπισιμώσαντες δὲ καὶ τὴν προβοσκίδα
οἱ ἐλέφαντες καὶ ὑπὸ τοῖς κέρασι πτύξαντες
ὥσπερ οὖν νεὼς “ἔμβολον σὺν πολλῷ τῷ ῥοθίῳ
φερομένης ἐμπεσόντες ῥύμῃ σφοδροτάτῃ ᾿πολλοὺς
ἀνατρέπουσι βοῶντες διάτορόν τε καὶ ὀξὺ δίκην
σάλπιγγος. πατουμένων δὲ τῶν ἁλισκομένων καὶ
ἀλοωμένων τοῖς γόνασιν ἄραβος πολὺς ὀστῶν 8
συντριβομένων ἀκούεται καὶ πόρρωθεν, τὰ πρό-
σωπα δὲ ἐκθλιβομένων τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ "τῆς
ῥινὸς συνθλωμένης καὶ ῥηγνυμένου, τοῦ μετώπου
τὸ ἐναργὲς τοῦ εἴδους ἀπόλλυσι, καὶ ἀγνῶτες
γίνονται πολλάκις καὶ τοῖς ἐγγυτάτω προσήκουσι.
σώζονται δὲ παραδόξως ἄλλοι τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.
συνείληπται μὲν ὁ θηρατής, ὑφ᾽ ὁρμῆς δὲ τὸ
θηρίον ὑπερῆλθεν αὐτόν, καὶ τὰ γόνατα ἐς τὴν γῆν
190

ran 6 τῆξο RELA aaa Aerie 8 Hace todd.

ας aR NCCAA V Pe LSE BUS UE DEE ORD ORDER ELSES “+

ed cs TA svete ρα εν RSIS IM ES

ἀρ.

ON ANIMALS, VIII. τὸ

secretly digging, whether by some natural instinct or
by some altogether mysterious faculty of divination
they restrain themselves from going any further, and
turn back and put up a most strenuous resistance as in
war and try to overthrow their hunters and, thrusting
their way through them, to seek safety in flight after
overcoming their adversaries. So then there ensues
a fierce battle and there is a slaughter of hunters and
hunted. And this is how the battle is fought. The
men take aim and hurl stout spears at them, while
the Elephants seize upon any man that has fallen in
their way, dash him to earth, trample upon him, and
wounding him with their tusks inflict upon him a
most pitiful and agonising death. And the animals
attack, their ears in passion spread wide like sails,
after the manner of ostriches which open their wings
to flee or to attack. And the Elephants bending
their trunk inwards and folding it beneath their
tusks, like the ram of a ship driving along with a
great surge, fall upon the men in a tremendous
charge, overturning many and bellowing with a
piercing, shrill note like a trumpet. And as those who
are caught are trampled or smashed by the beasts’
knees, a great sound of bones being crushed can be
heard even at a distance, and men’s faces, with eyes
knocked out, nose battered, and forehead split, lose
their distinctive features, and frequently become
unrecognisable even by their nearest relatives.
Others however escape contrary to expectation, in
the following manner. A hunter has been caught,

but the Elephant in its forward rush has overpassed
him and has planted its knees upon the earth and

8 - > ,
Τῶν COTEDMY.

191

1 ἰσχυρὰ caer 2 τῷ τέλει.

ABELIAN

ἀπήρεισε,; καὶ προσκατέπηξε τὰ κέρατα ἐς
θάμνον ἢ ἐς ῥίζαν ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτο, καὶ ἐχέται,
καὶ μόγις ἀνασπᾷ καὶ ἐξαιρεῖ: ἐν δὲ τῷ τέως
διεκδὺς 6 κυνηγέτης ἀπαλλάττεται. οὐκοῦν ἐν
τῇ τοιαύτῃ μάχῃ πολλάκις͵ μὲν κρατοῦσιν οἱ
ἐλέφαντες, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἡττῶνται δείματα ἐξ
ἐπιβουλῆς καὶ δέα ποικίλα ἐπαγόντων. καὶ yop
σάλπιγγες ἄδουσι, καὶ δοῦπόν τε καὶ κτύπον
ἐργάζονται πρὸς 3 τὰς ἀσπίδας ἀράττοντες τὰ
δόρατα, καὶ πῦρ τὸ μέν τι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐξάπτουσι,
τὸ δὲ μετέωρον * αἴρουσι, καὶ ἄλλο σφενδονῶσι "
δαλοὺς διαπύρους ἀκοντίζοντες καὶ δᾷδας μακρὰς
πυρὸς ἐνακμάζοντος τοῖς θηρίοις κατὰ προσώπου
βιαίως ἐπισείοντες. ἅπερ οὖν τὰ θηρία δεδιότα
καὶ δυσωπούμενα ὠθεῖται, <Katy® ἔστιν OTE καὶ
ἐκνικᾶται ἐμπεσεῖν ἴ ἐς τὴν τάφρον, ἣν τέως
ἐφυλάττετο.

11. Ἡγήμων ἐν τοῖς Δαρδανικοῖς μέτροις περὶ
᾿Αλεύα τοῦ Θετταλοῦ φησι καὶ ἄλλα μέν, ἐν δὲ
τοῖς καὶ ὅτι ἠράσθη δράκων αὐτοῦ. καὶ ὅτι μὲν
εἶχε κόμην χρυσῆν ὅδε ὁ ᾿Αλεύας, λέγων τερα-
reverat,® ἐμοὶ δὲ ἔστω ξανθή. καὶ βουκολεῖν μὲν
αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ "Οσσῃ φησὶν ὡς ἐν τῇ ἴδῃ τὸν
᾿Αγχίσην, παρὰ δὲ τῇ κρήνῃ νέμειν. τᾶς βοῦς τῇ
καλουμένῃ Αἱμονίᾳ. Θετταλὴ 0 ἂν καὶ ἡ κρήνη
εἴη. δράκοντα οὖν μεγέθει μέγιστον ἐρασθῆναι
τοῦ ᾿Αλεύα, καὶ ἀνέρπειν ἐς αὐτόν, καὶ τὴν κόμην
οἱ καταφιλεῖν καὶ τῇ γλώττῃ περιλιχμώμενον

2 Reiske: καὶ πρός.

i + ᾽ὔ
ἐπήρεισεν. ee ,
ὑψοῦ μετέωρον.

. 8. ἐξάπτοντες.

102

Ἔ i

Te
mae

ξ

i

ἢ.
ὃ;

ἃ

ἀραιλίδιοιν, sateen το δι τς μος

ON ANIMALS, VIII. ro-rz

has besides fixed its tusks in a thicket or in a tree-
root or some similar object, and is held fast and can
only with difficulty withdraw and pull them out.
Meanwhile the hunter slips out and escapes. In such
a battle therefore it often happens that the Elephants
are victorious, often however that they are defeated
through the men designedly applying various means
of scaring them. For instance, trumpets are
sounded; the hunters make a din and a clash by
beating their spears on their shields; now they light
a fire on the ground, now they lift it up in the air; or
again they launch burning firebrands like javelins
and violently brandish great torches in full blaze
before the faces of the animals. And as the animals
dread and are dazzled by these things they are
pushed back and sometimes forced to fall into the
pit which till then they have kept clear of.

11. Hegemon in his poem, the Dardanica, among Love of

other things touching Aleuas the Thessalian, says that
a snake was enamoured of him. And when he says
that this Aleuas had ‘ golden’ hair he is romancing ;
let me call it “flaxen.’ And he says that he was a
neatherd on mount Ossa, as Anchises was on Ida,
and that he pastured his cattle near the spring called
Haemonia.
Now a snake of enormous size fell in love with
Aleuas and crept up to him and kissed his hair and
with its tongue licked and washed the face of its

5 αἴροντες. . . σφενδονῶντες.

ὁ «καί» add. Reiske.

? Ges: ἐκπεσεῖν.

8 tA ξ Ἥ ’, ὃ λ /
repareverat ὃ Ἢ γήμων δηλονότι.

103

VOL. 11. H

beauty in
animals

(The spring also would be in Thessaly.) |

AELIAN

τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἐρωμένου καθαίρειν, καὶ δωροφο-
ρεῖν αὐτῷ θηρῶντα πάμπολλα. εἰ δὲ Γλαύκης
τῆς κιθαρῳδοῦ κριὸς ἥττητο καὶ ἐν ᾿Ιασῷ
δελφὶς ἐφήβου, τί κωλύει καὶ δράκοντα ἐρασθῆναι
νομέως ὡραίου, τὸν ὀξυωπέστατον κάλλους διαπρε-
ποῦς ἀγαθὸν κριτὴν γεγενημένον; ἦν δὲ ἄρα
ἴδιον ζῴων καὶ ἐρασθῆναι μὴ μόνον τοῦ συννόμου
τε ἅμα καὶ συμφυοῦς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ προσήκοντος
ἥκιστα, ὡραίου μέντοι.

?

12. Ὃ παρείας ἢ mapovas (οὕτω yap ᾿Απολ-
λόδωρος ἐθέλει) πυρρὸς τὴν χρόαν, εὐωπὸς τὸ
ὄμμα, πλατὺς τὸ στόμα, δακεῖν οὐ σφαλερός,
> ‘ -~ 4 \ κι ~
ἀλλὰ πρᾶος. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ τῷ θεῶν φιλανθρωπο-
τάτῳ 8 ἱερὸν ἀνῆκαν ἃ αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπεφήμισαν
᾿Ασκληπιοῦ θεράποντα εἶναι οἱ πρῶτοι ὃ ταῦτα
ἀνιχνεύσαντες.

? , \ 7
13. Ἔν Αἰθιοπίᾳ τοὺς καλουμένους Σιβρίτας
f X 3 4 €¢ #3
σκορπίους (οὕτω δὲ αὐτοὺς ὡς εἰκὸς οἱ ἐπιχώριοι
“~ 7 > “
φιλοῦσιν ὀνομάζειν) ἀκούω συτεῖσθαι καὶ σαύρους
," 5 7 \ 4 ‘ ᾽ \ ~
Kal ἀσπίδας Kat σφονδύλας καὶ Tipas καὶ πᾶν
ἐ \ 3 ~ ~
ἑρπετόν, τὸν δὲ ἐπιβάντα αὐτῶν τοῖς περιττώμασιν
¢ lan 4 Α ,ὔ
ἑλκοῦσθαι πέπυσμαι. περὶ Κέρκυραν δὲ γίνονται
. ¢ ᾽ὔ ¢ >
ai καλούμεναι vdpat, αἵπερ οὖν τοὺς διώκοντας
ἥττητο καὶ Πτολεμαίῳ γε τῷ Φιλαδέλφῳ ἀντήρα.
Jac: ἑτέρου.
τῷ φιλανθρωποτάτῳ θεῶν.
ἀφῆκαν.

πρῶτοί μου.

me ὦ τὸ ἢ

qt

194

ε af
; re
. ‘ pee:
ΒΕ αν
38
“Se
ΤῊΣ
we

LASSE UIST ES i 8hy eB EOS EAGLE OE TESSOH SLU ANESTVASEAA Rr ctseccani

ne he AR a Ep RSNA ENN te PACA NCTE Ὁ... STEAM stares °°

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 11-13

loved one and brought him as presents many of the

— spoils of its hunting.

Now if a ram was overcome by love of Glauce the

_ harpist, and a dolphin of a youth at Iassus,* what is ᾿

there to prevent a snake also from falling in love with

a handsome shepherd, or the most keen-sighted of

creatures from being a good judge of conspicuous

beauty? So it seems that it is in fact a characteristic

of animals to fall in love not only with their com-
panions and kin but even with those who bear no
relation to them at all but are yet beautiful.

12. The Pareas or Paruas® (for this is the form The |
preferred by Apollodorus) is of a red colour, has noe
sharp eyes and a wide mouth; its bite is not injurious
but gentle. That, you see, is the reason why those
who first made these discoveries consecrated it to the
god who is the kindest to man and gave it the name
of ‘ servant to Asclepius.’ 7

13. I have heard that in Ethiopia the Scorpions the
known as Stbritae (that is what the inhabitants 5 Sar
commonly call them, as is natural) feed upon lizards,
asps, sphondylae,? cockroaches, and all creeping
things, but I have ascertained that anyone who
treads upon their excrement develops ulcers.

In Corcyra there occur water-snakes, as they are Various

called, which round upon their pursuers and by i

@ See 6. 15.

> Coluber longissimus (or Aesculapit or flavescens), a
beneficent snake, kept in the temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus.

¢ The Sibritae were an Ethiopian tribe dwelling between
the upper arms of the Nile and the Red Sea.

@ Perh. a kind of beetle; one of the Cerambycidae or long-
horn beetles (Gossen § 52).

195

AELIAN

ἐπιστραφεῖσαι καὶ φυσήσασαι πνεῦμα ἄτοπον εἶτα
= ~ , > 4
ἀναστέλλουσι τῆς ὁρμῆς Kat ἀποστρέφουσι. τὸν
a ? A A , “~ \ ?
τύφλωπα δέ, dv καὶ τυφλίνην καλοῦσι Kat κωφίαν
ἡ.
προσέτι, κεφαλὴν μὲν παραπλησίαν ἔχειν μυραίνῃ
3 4 /
λέγει τις λόγος, ὀφθαλμοὺς δὲ ἄγαν βραχίστους.
καὶ θάτερον μὲν τοῖν ὀνομάτοιν ἐντεῦθεν εἴληφε,
τόν γε μὴν 2 κωφίαν, ἐπεὶ νωθής ἐστι τὴν ἀκοήν.
δορὰν δὲ ἰσχυρὰν ἔχει καὶ διακοπτομένην βραδύ-
τατα. τὸν δὲ ἀκοντίαν χέρσυδρον εἶναί φασι,
7 13 ? os “ θ 4 ὃ 4
χρόνου δὲ38 ἐν ξηρῷ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν διατριβὴν
πολλοῦ καὶ ἐλλοχᾶν ζῷον πᾶν. ἡ δὲ σοφία τῆς
ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοιάδε ἐστίν. ἐν ταῖς
/ \ 6 7 7 \
λεωφόροις που λαθὼν ὑποκρύπτεται, πολλάκις δὲ
καὶ ἐπί τι δένδρον ἀνερπύσας εἶτα ἑαυτὸν συνειλή-
σας καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐν τῇ σπείρᾳ ὑποκρύψας
τοὺς παριόντας ἡσυχῆ * ὑποβλέπει: εἶτα ἑαυτὸν
3.8 3 3 7 δ + 2 “. v
ἀφίησιν ἐς τὸ παριόν, εἴτε ἄλογον εἴη ζῷον εἴτε
ἄνθρωπος. ἔστι δὲ ἁλτικὸν θηρίον καὶ διαπηδῆσαι
καὶ εἴκοσιν εἰ δέοι πήχεις οἷόν τε' ἁλλόμενόν τε

παραχρῆμα ἐνέφυ.

/ > +7?
14. Λύκοι Bot ἐς τέλμα βαθὺ ἐμπεσόντι ἐάν
Ὡ
πως περιτύχωσι, ταράττουσι μὲν αὐτὸν ἔξωθεν
lan 4 ‘ > tal “ al
καὶ φοβοῦσι, διανήξασθαι Kat ἐπιβῆναι τῆς γῆς
“4 “~
οὐκ ἐπιτρέποντες, ἀναγκάζουσι δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ
στρεβλούμενον καὶ ἰλυσπώμενον ἀποπνιγῆναι. εἶτα
na ~ 7 [αν
εἷς αὐτῶν ὃ τελεώτατος ἐμπηδήσας τῷ ὕδατι καὶ
προσνεύσας ἐλάβετο τῆς οὐρᾶς τοῦ βοὸς καὶ
ve 3 ΩΝ Δ ὦ ἌΝ 3 Ae /
ἕλκει ἐς τὸ ἔξω, καὶ ἕτερος τῆς ἐκείνου λαβόμενος
αὐτὸν ἕλκει, καὶ τὸν δεύτερον ὃ τρίτος, καὶ
1 δὲ προσέτι. 2 σὸν μὲν δή.
8. γάρ. 4 ἡσυχῆ καὶ λανθάνων.

τοῦ

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 13-14

blasts of foul breath make them pause in their
attack and deter them. According to one account
the Typhlops (blind-eyes),* which people also call
Typhiine and Cophias as well, has a head nearly
resembling the moray, but very small eyes. And
the second of its two names, that is Cophzas, it has
derived from the fact that it is dull of hearing. But
its skin is hard and takes a long time to cut through.
And the Acontias (javelin-snake), they say, is am-
phibious and spends much time on dry land, lying in
wait for every kind of living creature. And it shows
skill in its fell designs, thus. It lurks hidden it may
be in thoroughfares ; often it crawls up some tree and
coils itself up and concealing its head in its coils, spies
quietly upon the passers-by. Then it launches
itself on whatever is passing, be it brute beast or
man. The creature is good at leaping and is
capable of Jumping as much as twenty cubits, if
need be. And where it leaps it instantly fastens
on.

14. If by chance Wolves come upon an Ox that has Ril

fallen into a deep pond, they harass and terrify him
from the bank, never allowing him to swim across
and get out on to land, and compel him after long
torment and floundering to drown. Then the
strongest Wolf in the pack leaps into the water and
swimming up to the Ox, seizes its tail and begins to
drag it to the bank; and a second wolf seizes the
tail of the first and drags it, then a third drags the

4 * Probably Pseudopus pallasi,’ Thompson on Arist. HA
567 b 25 (Eng. tr.). It is a limbless lizard and is known as a
“ glass-snake.’ Other interpretations are Anguis fragilis
(Brenning), Typhlops vermicularis (Gossen-Steier). .

107

AELIAN

τοῦτον ὃ τέταρτος, καὶ δρᾶται τὸ εἰρημένον μέχρι
τοῦ τελευταίου, ὅσπερ οὖν ἔξω τοῦ ὕδατος
ἕστηκε. καὶ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἐξαγαγόντες τὸν
βοῦν ποιοῦνται δεῖπνον. βοὸς δὲ μόσχον πεπλανη-
μένον ἐλλοχήσαντες εἶτα αὐτῷ προσπηδῶσι, καὶ
τοῦ μυκτῆρος λαβόμενοι ἕλκουσιν" ὁ δὲ ἀντισπᾷ,
καὶ ἅμιλλα ὑπὲρ τούτου πολλή, τῶν μὲν ἐκβιάσα-
σθαι πειρωμένων, τοῦ δὲ μὴ εἶξαι ἀγώνισμα
ποιουμένου. ὅταν δὲ αὐτὸν οὕτως ; θεάσωνται
σφόδρα ἀντιτείνοντα, μεθῆκαν. καὶ ἐκεῖνος ὑπὸ
τῆς ἐς τοὐπίσω βίας ἀνατέτραπται, καὶ οἱ λύκοι
ἐμπεσόντες ἀνέρρηξαν τὴν νηδὺν καὶ ἐσθίουσιν
αὐτόν.

“ € 25, 7 \
15. Ὅταν ὑπερβῆναι τάφρον οἱ ἐλέφαντες μὴ
᾿ 4 > ) ἃ
δύνωνται, εἷς ὁ μέγιστος ἑαυτὸν ἐς αὐτὴν ἐμβάλλει,
' "

a \ τ ὦ \.
καὶ πλάγιος ἵσταται, Καὶ γεφυροῖ ΤῸ KEVOV, και

κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ βαίνοντες ἐς τὸ ἀντιπέρας ἴασι καὶ
ἀποδιδράσκουσι, πρότερον μέντοι καὶ ἐκεῖνον
ἀνασώσαντες. ὁ δὲ τῆς σωτηρίας τρόπος οὗτος
ἐστιν. ἄνωθέν τις τὸν πόδα προτείνει, καὶ
ἐκείνῳ παρέχει τὴν προβοσκίδα “περυπλέξαι" οἱ
δὲ ἄλλοι φρύγανα ἐμβάλλουσι καὶ ξύλα ὦκιοτα,
ὧν ἐπιβαίνων, εἰχημμένος {τε τοῦ ποδὸς μάλα
ἐγκρατῶς τε καὶ εὐλαβῶς ἀνασπᾶται ῥᾷστα.

Ἔστι δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἰνδοῖς ἄρουρα, καὶ κέκληται
Φαλάκρα. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τοῦ ὀνόματος, ὁ γευσάμενος
τῆς ἐνταῦθα γινομένης πόας καὶ τὰς τρίχας
ἀποβάλλει καὶ τὰ κέρατα. οὐκοῦν οἱ ἐλέφαντες
ἑκόντες εἶναι οὐ προσίασι τῇδε τῇ ἀρούρᾳ, ἀλλ
2 <re> add. Reiske.

"ἢ 3 -. Ἐ rd
aAVTLOTE EQAUTOV,

198

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 14-15

second, and a fourth the third, and this is repeated
up to the last Wolf, which is standing out of the
water. And having hauled out the Ox in this way,
they enjoy a feast. They lie in wait for a strayed
Calf and leap upon it, and seizing it by the nose drag
it along. But the Calf pulls against them and there
is a herce struggle for it, the Wolves trying to over-

~ come it by force, the Calf fighting hard not to yield.

And when they see it resisting with all its might in
this way, they let go; whereupon the Calf by
straining in the opposite direction is upset, and the
Wolves leap upon it, tear open its belly, and devour
it.

15. When Elephants are unable to cross a ditch
the largest one in the herd throws himself into it
and standing transversely bridges the gap, while the
rest tread on his back, cross to the far side, and make
off, but not until they have rescued him. And the
way in which they rescue him is as follows. One of
them on the bank puts his foot forward and allows
the large Elephant to wrap his trunk round it.
Meantime the others throw undergrowth and timber
into the trench as fast as they can. And he mounts
on these and clinging firmly with all his might to the
other’s foot is drawn up without difficulty.

There is in India a tract of land called Phalacra
(bald). And the reason for the name is that any
creature which eats the grass growing there loses its
hair and its horns. Accordingly Elephants do not
willingly go near this tract, but if they have drawn

3 γενομένης.
199

Hiephants
cross a ditch

AELIAN

ἀποστρέφονται πλησίον γενόμενοι, πᾶν τὸ βλάπτον
φεύγοντες ὡς ἄνθρωποι φρόνιμοι οἱ ἐλέφαντες.

16. ͵ Τὴν σπογγιὰν ἰθύνει βραχὺ ξῷον, οὐ
καρκίνῳ τὴν ἰδέαν παραπλήσιον, ἀλλὰ ἀράχνῃ
μᾶλλον. οὐ “γὰρ ἄψυχον οὐδὲ αἵματος ἄμοιρον ἡ
σπογγιὰ κύημά ἐστι θαλάττης ,ἶ ἀλλὰ " ταῖς
πέτραις προσφύεται, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἕτερα, ἔχει
δέ τινα κίνησιν ἰδίαν, δεῦται δὲ ὡς ἂν εἴποις τοῦ
ὑπομνήσοντος αὐτὴν ὅτι ἔμψυχός ἐστιν. ἀτρε-
μοῦσα γὰρ ὑπό 5 τινος συμφυοῦς μανότητος καὶ
novydlovoa τοῖς τρήμασιν αὐτῆς ὅταν προσπέσῃ
τι, ἐνταῦθα ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀραχνώδους ζῴου νύττεται,
καὶ συλλαμβάνει τὸ ἐμπεσόν, καὶ τροφὴν ἴσχει.
ὅταν δὲ ἄνθρωπος προσίῃ ἐπ᾽ ἐκτομῇ αὐτῆς,
κεντουμένη * ὑπὸ τοῦ ζῴου τοῦ συντρόφου φρίττει
καὶ ἑαυτὴν συστρέφει, καὶ αἰτία πόνου τε καὶ
καμάτου γίνεται τῷ θηρατῇ ναὶ μὰ Δία πολλοῦ.

17. Ἰἴρηται μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν περὶ ἐλεφάντων ἰδίᾳ,
τὰ δὲ καὶ εἰρήσεται. ΟἿ οὑτωσὶ κρατοῦσι μὲν
βίου ἡ ὃ σωφροσύνης δὲ ὅ ὅπως μετειλήχασιν, εἰπεῖν
πρεπωδέστατον. οὐ γὰρ ὡς ὑβρίζοντες οὐδὲ ὡς
λάγνοι ἐπὶ τὴν ὁμιλίαν τὴν πρὸς τὴν θήλειαν
ἔρχονται, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ γένους “διαδοχῆς
δεόμενοι καὶ παιδοσποροῦντες, ἵνα μὴ αὐτοὺς
ἐπιλίπῃ ἡ ἐπιγονὴ ἡ ἐξ ἀλλήλων, ἐάσωσι δὲ
σπέρμα. ἅπαξ γοῦν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τῷ σφετέρῳ
μνημονεύουσιν ἀφροδίτης, ὅταν ἡ θήλεια ὑπομένῃ
καὶ αὐτή: εἶτα ἐμπλήσας ἕκαστος τὴν σύννομον

1 θαλάττης καὶ πέφυκεν εἶναι ζῷον. 2 Kal,

200

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 15-17

near to it they move away, since Elephants, like
prudent men, avoid anything that is harmful.

16. The Sponge is directed by a small animal
resembling a spider rather than a crab. For the
Sponge is no lifeless or bloodless object engendered
by the sea, but clings to the rocks like other creatures
and has a certain power of movement in itself,
though it needs, as you might say, someone to remind
it that it is a living creature, for owing to some
natural porosity it remains motionless and at rest,
until something encounters its pores; then the
spider-like creature pricks it, and it seizes what
has fallen in and makes a meal. But when a man
approaches to cut it off, the Sponge is pricked by
the animal that lives in it, shudders, and contracts,
and the trouble and labour that this causes to the
fisherman is considerable, and no mistake.

17. [have indeed spoken of Elephants in a separate Th
chapter, but I shall add the following .. . it is
most fitting to state that they have been gifted with
temperance. For they seek intercourse with the
female not as though minded to commit an outrage
or from lust, but like men desiring a succession to
their family and to beget children, in order that
their common offspring may not fail but that they
may leave their seed after them. At any rate once
only in a life-time do their thoughts turn to love,
when the female herself submits. Then when each
one has impregnated its mate, thereafter it knows

8 4 Schn:

ἐκκεντουμένη.
. βίου corrupt,

ε ε »

ως πο.

δ ς Η
OUTG)OL «. «

201

The Sponge

Elephant, its

continence

AELIAN

τὸ ἐντεῦθεν! οὐκ oldev αὐτήν. συμπλέκονται δὲ
οὐκ ἀνέδην οὐδὲ ἐν τῇ τῶν ἄλλων ὄψει ἀλλ᾽
ἀναχωρήσαντες: καὶ ἑαυτῶν προβάλλονται ἢ
δένδρα δασέα ἢ ὕλην τινὰ συμφυῆ ἢ χῶρον κοῖλον
καὶ βαθὺν τοῦ λαθεῖν αὐτοῖς παρέχοντα ἀφθονίαν.
ὡς μὲν οὖν εἰσι δίκαιοι ἄνω εἶπον, καὶ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον
αὐτῶν καὶ τοῦτο ἤδη λέλεκται: τὸ 2 σῶφρον δὲ
ἀποδέδεικταιϑ τὰ νῦν ταῦτα. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ
μισοπόνηρον ὅτῳ σχολὴ μανθάνειν, οὗτος ὑπέχων
τὰ ὦτα ἀκουέτω. ἐλέφαντι ἡμέρῳ πωλευτὴς ἦν,
καὶ εἶχε γυναῖκα ἀφηλικεστέραν μέν, πλουσίαν
δέ. οὐκοῦν ἑτέρας ἐρῶν καὶ τὰ τῆς συνοικούσης
σπεύδων ἐκείνης γενέσθαι * ταύτην μὲν ἀποπνίγει
καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἐλέφαντος φάτνης κατορύττει πλησίον
ὁ θερμόβουλος ἄνθρωπος, ἄγεται δὲ τὴν ἄλλην.
ἐνταῦθα οὖν ὃ ἐλέφας τῇ προβοσκίδι λαβόμενος
τὴν νεωστὶ ἀφιγμένην ἄγει τῆς νεκρᾶς ὃ πλη-
σίον, καὶ τοῖς κέρασιν ἀνορύξας καὶ γυμνώσας τὸ
σῶμα, ἃ εἰπεῖν οὐκ ἠδύνατο, ταῦτα ἐπεδείκνυε δι᾽
αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων, τὴν γυναῖκα τὸν τρόπον τοῦ
γήμαντος αὐτὴν ἐκδιδάσκων ὁ μισοπόνηρος ἐλέφας.

18. ᾿ἜὌ)9γλγραύλεις, of δὲ ἐγκρασιχόλους καλοῦσιν
αὐτάς, προσακήκοά, γε μὴν καὶ τρίτον ὄνομα
αὐτῶν, εἰσὶ γὰρ ot καὶ λυκοστόμους αὐτὰς
ὀνομάζουσιν. ἔστι δὲ μικρὰ ἰχθύδια, καὶ πολύγονα
φύσει, λευκότατα ἰδεῖν: ἐσθίουσί γε μὴν μάλιστα
οἱ ἀγελαῖοι τῶν ἰχθύων αὐτά. δείσαντα οὖν ὃ
συνθεῖ πρὸς ἴ ἄλληλα, καὶ ἐχόμενον τοῦ πλησίον
1 Schn: τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἐπὶ τούτοις.
2 καὶ τό.
8. ἀπολέλεκται.

202

ON ANIMALS, VII. 17-18

her no more. And they do not couple without
reserve or in the sight of others but withdraw and
screen themselves in thick trees or in some close-
growing forest or in some deep hollow, which affords
them ample means of hiding.

Now I said above that they were just, and I have
already spoken of their valour. Their continence
has been displayed in the present instance. Further,
anyone who has leisure to learn of their detestation
of evil should lend an ear and listen to this. The
trainer of a tame Elephant had a somewhat elderly
but rich wife. Now he was in love with another
woman, and desiring that his wife’s property should
become hers, he strangled his wife and buried her,
rash man that he was, close by the Elephant’s
manger, and married the other woman. So then
the Elephant seizing hold of the new arrival with its reveals
trunk led her up to the dead body, dug it up, and ™™°*
laid it bare with its tusks, showing by its mere action
what it could not express in words, and enlighten-
ing the woman _as.to the conduct of him who had.
wedded her; such was the Elephant’s hatred of
evil.

18. Anchovies (engrauleis, which some call en- The
crasicho, and I have even heard a third name “°°
applied to them, for some call them ‘ wolf-mouths ἢ
are a tiny fish, prolific by nature, and pure white in
appearance. They are principally -eaten by fish
which swim in shoals, and so when scared they rush
to one another, and as each clings to its neighbour,

ἢ 5 ~
4 γίνεσθαι. 5 νεκροῦ.

6 Schn: μήν. 7 εἰς,

203

AELIAN

ἕκαστον τῇ σφίγξει τὸ ῥᾳδίως ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι
διαπέφευγε. τοσαύτη δὲ ἄρα αὐτῶν ἡ ἕνωσις
γίνεται συνδραμόντων, ὡς καὶ πορθμίδας ἐπιθεού-
σας μὴ διασχίζειν αὐτά: καὶ μέντοι καὶ κώπην ἢ
κοντὸν εἴ τις αὐτῶν διεῖναι θελήσειε, τὰ δὲ οὐ
διαξαίνεται, ἀλλὰ ἔχεται ἀλλήλων ὡς συνυφα-
σμένα. καθεὶς δὲ τὴν χεῖρα ὡς ἐκ σωροῦ πυρῶν
ἢ κυάμων λάβοις + ἂν βιαίως ἀποσπάσας, ὡς καὶ
διασπᾶσθαι πολλάκις, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἡμίτομα τῶν
ἰχθυδίων λαμβάνεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ὑπολείπεσθαι.3 καὶ
γὰρ 3 τὸ μὲν οὐραῖον καθέξεις, μένει. δὲ σὺν * τοῖς
ἄλλοις ἡ κεφαλή: ἢ κεφαλὴν κομιεῖς οἴκαδε,
μένει δὲ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ τὸ λοιπόν. καλεῖται δὲ
αὐτῶν ἡ πυκνή τε καὶ συνεχὴς νῆξις βόλος, καὶ
πεντήκοντα ἁλιάδας πολλάκις ἐπλήρωσεν εἷς
βόλος, ὥς φασιν ot θαλαττουργοί.5

19. Ἢ ds γνωρίζει τοῦ συβώτου τὴν φωνήν,
καὶ ὑπακούει καλοῦντος, κἂν ἢ πλανηθεῖσα"
πλησίον δὲ τούτου τὸ μαρτύριον. τῇ y τῇ
Τυρρηνίδι κακοῦργοι ναῦν λήστειραν προσέσχον,
καὶ προελθόντες ? αὐλίῳ περιτυγχάνουσι, καὶ ἦν
συβωτῶν τὸ αὔλιον, καὶ εἶχε πολλὰς ὗς. ταύτας
οὖν συλλαβόντες ἐς τὴν ναῦν ἐνέβαλον, καὶ
ἀπολύσαντες τὰ πείσματα εἴχοντο τοῦ πλοῦ. ot
τοΐνυν συβῶται παρόντων μὲν τῶν λῃστῶν ἡσύχα-
ζον, ἐπεὶ δὲ. ἔτυχον τῆς γῆς ἀποσαλεύσαντες,
ὅσσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας, ἐνταῦθά τοι τὰς σῦς

1 λάβοι. * ἀπολείπεσθαι.
3 4 ΑἹ > ~ λ AG} 4 3
καὶ yap ἐν τῷ πλήθει. ἐν.

5 οἴκαδε σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις.
6. φησιν 6 θαλαττουργός.

204

|
|
|

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 18-19

by their close cohesion they avoid falling an easy
prey to plots upon their life. And so united is their
mass when they have rushed together that even
ships which run into them do not cleave it. More-
over should someone wish to drive an oar or a pole
through them, they are not torn apart, but cling to
each other as though woven together. But if you put
your hand down and pull hard as if you were drawing
grains of wheat or beans from a heap, you may catch
some, with the result that they are often torn to
pieces and that fragments of fish are caught, while
the rest is left behind. For though you may get
possession of the tail, yet the head remains with the
other fish; or you may take home a head, but the
rest of the fish remains in the sea. Their swimming
in a dense, compact mass is called a ‘ draught,’ and
a single draught often fills fifty fishing-boats, as

toilers of the sea inform us.

19. The Sow recognises the voice of the swine- Pigs and
herd, and attends. to his call even though it has ἀῶ

wandered away. Evidence for this statement is to
hand. Some miscreants beached their pirate vessel
on the shore of Etruria, and proceeding inland came
upon a fold belonging to some swineherds and con-
taining a large number of Sows. These they seized,
put them on board, loosed their cables, and continued
on their voyage. Now so long as the pirates were on
the spot the swineherds kept quiet, but when they
were off shore in the roadstead ‘ and as far as a
ery might carry,’% then the swineherds with their

α Hom. Od. 5. 400.

7 Jac: προσελθόντες MSS, perh. προσσχόντες Εἰ.

205

AELIAN

τῇ συνήθει βοῇ ὀπίσω 1 παρὰ σφᾶς ἀπεκάλουν ot
συβῶται. at δὲ ὡς ἤκουσαν, ἐπὶ θάτερα τοῦ
πλοίου ἑαυτὰς συνώσασαι ἀνέτρεψαν αὐτό. καὶ
οἱ μὲν κακοῦργοι παραχρῆμα διεφθάρησαν, αἱ δὲ

“ὮΝ ~ f 3 7
ὗς παρὰ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν δεσπότας ἀπενήξαντο.

20. Ζηλότυπον δὲ εἶναι καὶ τὸν πελαργόν
φασιν. ἐν γοῦν ἹΚραννῶνι τῆς Θετταλίας ᾿Αλκι-
νόην ὄνομα γυναῖκα ὡραΐαν ὃ γήμας ἀπολιπὼν
οἴκοι ἔς twa ἐστείλατο ἀποδημίαν. ἡ τοίνυν
᾿Αλκινόη ὡμίλει τῶν θεραπόντων τινί. τοῦτο
συνιδὼν 6 πελαργὸς ὁ οἰκέτης οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν,
ἀλλὰ ἐτιμώρησε τῷ δεσπότῃ. προσπηδῶν γοῦν
ἐπήρωσε τῆς ἀνθρώπου τὴν ὄψιν. ἀνωτέρω ?
μὲν ἐμνήσθην πορφυρίωνος ζηλοτυπίας εἶτα κυνὸς
τοιούτου, νῦν γε μὴν πελαργοῦ τὰ ἴσα ἐκείνοις ὃ
ἐς νοσοῦντα γάμον.

Ὄ νι » > αὶ ¢ , “- ς \
OU TO OVOLA EPOVGLY οὐ TTAPOLKOL Θρᾷκες. Ο δὲ

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 19-21

accustomed cry called the Swine back to them.
And when the Swine heard it they pressed together
to one side of the vessel and capsized it. And the
miscreants were drowned forthwith, but the Swine
swam away to their masters.

20. They say that the Stork also is subject to A Stork

jealousy.* At any rate at Crannon in Thessaly a?
man who had married a beautiful wife of the name
of Alcinoe left her at home and went away on his
travels. So Alcinoe had intercourse with one of the
servants. The Stork that was about the house got
to know of this and would not tolerate it, but avenged
its master. At any rate it sprang upon the woman
and blinded her eyes. |

I have earlier on spoken of jealousy on the part of
a Purple Coot, then of a Dog in like case, and now
of a Stork equally affected over a marriage that went
wrong.

@ See InpeEx II, s.v. ‘ Jealousy.’

a ee ‘ oF aa . 21. Sheep change their colour as their drink varies ἐνῶ δὸς ὑἰ τὰ
21. Μεταβάλλει. δὲ τὰς χρόας τὰ πρόβατα ἐκ with the character of the rivers. The season of the colow
~ A λ “~ > ~ ‘ 4 “~ - . ° « ° a
τῆς περὶ. τὸ πῶμα ἀλλαγῆς κατὰ THY τῶν ποταμῶν year in which this occurs is the season of mating. οὗ Sheep |
ἰδιότητα: ἡ δὲ ὥρα τοῦ ἔτους, καθ᾽ ἣν ἀπαντᾷ So from being white they become black, and the
τοῦτο αὐτοῖς, ὁ THs μίξεως καιρός ἐστιν. γίνεται contrary change of colour occurs. This commonly
> ΜΝ ie / . ἡ ͵ takes place near the river of Antandria® and the
οὖν καὶ ἐκ λευκῶν μέλανα, Kat ἔμπαλιν τρέπει ᾿ : ᾿ ᾿
4 : ret δέ . eod : river in Thrace whose name the neighbouring
OE NEO RS gu See 0. ee Dee Rs Thracians will tell you. And since the Scamander
tov ev ᾿Αντανδρίᾳ ποταμὸν ὦ καὶ τὸν ἐν Θράκῃ, in the Troad turns the sheep that drink of it yellow,

ἐν Τροίᾳ Σκάμανδρος ἐπεὶ ξανθὰς ἀποφαίνει

1 ὀπίσω καί. 2 Jac: ἀνωτάτω.

3 Perh. some word like θυμωθέντος (H 1858) has been lost after
ἐκείνοις.
206

> Antandrus, town at the head of the gulf of Adramyttium
in Mysia; the river was the Satniois. :

4 7m... ποταμώ Cron, comp. Arist. HA 519 a 16.

207

AELIAN

πιψούσας τὰς οἷς, πρὸς τῷ Σκαμάνδρῳ τῷ ἐξ
ἀρχῆς ἄλλο ὄνομα. ἡ τῶν προβάτων ἐπίκτητος
χρόα ἔθετο αὐτῷ τὸ Ἑάνθου.

22, Χάριτος δὲ ἀπομνησθῆναι τὰ ζῷα καὶ κατὰ

τοῦτο ἀγαθά. ἐν Τάραντι γίνεται γυνὴ τά τε
ἄλλα σπουδῆς ἀξία καὶ οὖν καὶ σώφρων πρὸς τὸν
ἄνδρα: Ἡρακληὶς ¢ ὄνομα αὐτῇ. περιεῖπε μὲν οὖν
ζῶντα τὸν γεγαμηκότα εὖ μάλα κηδεμονικῶς"
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν βίον οὗτος κατέστρεψε, τὰς ἀστικὰς
a προειρημένη γυνὴ μισεῖ διατριβὰς καὶ τὴν
οἰκίαν, ἐν ἣ τὸν ἄνδρα νεκρὸν ἐθεάσατο, καὶ ὡς
εἶχε λύπης ἐς τοὺς τάφους μετοικίζεται, καὶ τοῖς
ἡρίοις τοῦ ποτε ἀνδρὸς τλημόνως παρέμεινε,
πιστὴν ἑαυτὴν 1 τῷ κατὰ γῆς ὄντι ἀποφαίνουσα.
καί ποτε ἣν ὥρα θέρειος, καὶ πελαργῶν ἔτι
νεοττῶν πρόπειραν τῆς ἑαυτῶν πτήσεως λαμβα-
νόντων εἷς ὃ μάλιστα νεαρὸς ἀκρατὴς ὧν ἔτι τῶν
ταρσῶν κατώλισθε, καὶ τοῖν σκελοῖν συντρίβει. τὸ
ἕτερον. ἡ τοίνυν “Hpaichnis: θεασαμένη τὸ πτῶμα
καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς τὸ πάθος καταμαθοῦσα οἰκτείρει
τὸν νεοττόν, καὶ ἀναλαβοῦσα σὺν πολλῇ τῇ φειδοῖ
κατειλεῖ τὴν πληγήν, καὶ θεραπεύει καταιονήμασι
καὶ ἐπιπλάσμασι, καὶ τροφὴν προσέφερε καὶ
ποτὸν ὦρεγε, χρόνῳ δὲ τῷ εἰκότι ῥωσθέντα καὶ
φύσαντα τὰ ὠκύπτερα ἐλεύθερον εἶναι μεθῆκεν.
6 δὲ εἰδὼς ἐννοίᾳ τινὶ φυσικῇ καὶ θαυμαστῇ
ὀφείλων ξωάγρια ᾧχετο ἀπιών. εἶτα ἐνιαυτοῦ
διελθόντος ἡ μὲν ἔτυχεν ἦρος -ὑπολάμποντος ἐν
ἡλίῳ θερομένη, ὁ δὲ πελαργὸς ὁ ἰαθεὶς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς
ἰδὼν τὴν εὐεργέτιν ὑφῆκε τῆς τῶν πτερῶν ὁρμῆς,
καὶ ἕαυτὸν χθαμαλωτέρᾳ τῇ πτήσει κατάγων
208

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 21-22

the colour which the flocks acquire has caused
the name Xanthus (yellow) to be added to its original
name of ‘ Scamander.’

22. In this respect also animals are good, viz at Woman of

remembering to be grateful. There was a woman
in Tarentum, admirable in other ways and particu-
larly as a faithful wife. Her name was Heracleis.
So long as her husband lived she cared for him with
the utmost devotion. But when he died the woman
took a dislike to life in the city and to the home in
which she had seen her husband dead, and such was
her grief that she went to dwell among the tombs
and was content to remain by her late husband’s
sepulchre, constant to him who was beneath the soil.
And once in summer when some storks, still fledg-
lings, were essaying their first flight, one of them, the
youngest, not having sufficient strength of wing, fell
and broke one of its legs. So Heracleis seeing its fall
and finding how its leg was injured, took pity on the
nestling and picking it up very gently wrapped up
the wound, and tended it with fomentations and
plasters, brought it food, gave it drink, and, when in
due course it was strong and had grown its quill-
feathers, set it free. And the stork, knowing by
some strange instinct that it owed her the price of
its life, departed. Later when a year had passed
and spring was just beginning to brighten, the
woman chanced to be warming herself in the sun,
and the Stork which had been healed by her, seeing
its benefactress, checked the speed of its wings and
sinking nearer to earth came close, opened its bill,

1 4 " ᾽
ἑαυτὴν καὶ σώφρονα.

209

Tarentum

and Stork

AELIAN

᾽ i , 4 3 ~ , > 4 .
πλησίον γίνεται, Kal χανὼν ἀνεμεῖ λίθον ἐς τὸν
- ξ i 7 " > " > %
τῆς “HpakdAnidos κόλπον, καὶ ἀναπετασθεὶς ἐπὶ
τοῦ τέγους ἑαυτὸν ἐκάθισεν. ἡ δὲ τὰ πρῶτα ὡς
> “~
εἰκὸς ἐθαύμασέ τε καὶ ἐκταραχθεῖσα ἠπόρει, τί
“ 4 -™
εἴη TO πραχθὲν συμβαλεῖν οὐκ ἔχουσα: τὴν δ᾽
= /
οὖν λίθον ἔνδον που 1 κατέθετο, εἶτα νύκτωρ
σι ww 7 3, ~
διυπνισθεῖσα ὁρᾷ αὐγήν τινα καὶ αἴγλην ἀφιεῖσαν,
καὶ κατελάμπετο ὁ οἶκος ὡς ἐσκομισθείσης δᾳδός"
τοσοῦτον ἄρα ἐκ τῆς βώλου τὸ σέλας ἀνήει τε
4‘ 2 Ff 2 σι \ \ i \ Ν
καὶ ἐτίκτετο.5 συλλαβοῦσα δὲ τὸν πελαργὸν καὶ
5 4 - “-»Μμ
ἐπαφωμένη κατενόησε τὴν ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς οὐλήν,
καὶ ἐγνώρισε τοῦτον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι τὸν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς
οἴκτου τε καὶ θεραπείας τετυχηκότα.

23. ᾿Αστακὸν εἰ λάβοις καὶ πορρωτάτω κομί-
σειας, σημεῖον καταλιπὼν ἔνθεν αὐτὸν τεθήρακας,
εὑρήσεις τὸν αὐτὸν ἐνταῦθα, ὅθεν καὶ συνείληπται.
λέγω δέ, εἰ παρὰ τὴν θάλατταν κομίσας εἶτα
καταθεῖο αὐτόν που πλησίον, ὡς ἑρπύσαι δυνηθῆναι
ἐς τὴν θάλατταν. :

24. “Aypeds τὸ ὄνομα, τὴν φύσιν πτηνός, τὸ
γένος κοσσύφων φράτωρ,3) μέλας τὴν χρόαν,
μουσικὸς τὴν γλῶτταν. κέκληται δὲ ἀγρεύς, καὶ
δικαίως: τῷ γάρ τοι μέλει τῶν ἄλλων ὀρνέων
αἱρεῖ τὰ ἁπαλὰ προσπετόμενα τῇ τῆς εὐμουσίας
θέλξει. εἰδὼς οὖν τὸ συμφυὲς αὐτῷ πλεονέκτημα,
ἔοικε χρῆσθαι τῷ παρὰ τῆς φύσεως δώρῳ ἐς
ἡδονὴν ἅμα καὶ τροφήν: ἀκούων μὲν γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ
1 σοι.
3 ἐτίκτετο, καὶ ἦν μέγα τίμιος.
8. φράτωρ καὶ συγγενής.

210

LP Pte κι κοντν

τους, hte herria ag ri cnk tb RAL ne DP OETA 1 SISTED ONE IED LEE EPA Fk Adhd rd

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 22-24

_and disgorged a stone into the lap of Heracleis, and

then flew off and settled on the roof. At first,
naturally enough, she was amazed and startled out
of her wits, and was at a loss to conjecture what this
action could mean. And so she put the stone away
somewhere indoors; later being woken in the night
she saw that it diffused a brightness and a gleam,
and the house was lit up as though a torch had been
brought in, so strong a radiance came from, and was
engendered by, the lump of stone. And when she

had taken hold of the Stork and handled it she

recognised the scar left by the wound, and knew that
it was the very bird which had been the object of her
pity and her ministrations.

23. If you catch a Smooth Lobster and remove it the Smooth
Lobster

to a great distance, leaving a mark at the place where
you caught it, you will find the self-same Lobster at
the spot where it was captured: J mean, if you take
it along the seashore and put it down somewhere
near enough for it to be able to crawl into the.
sea.

_ 24. ‘ Hunter’ is its name; Nature has given it rhe Indian
its Mynah

wings; it is allied to the tribe of thrushes;
colour is black; it has a musical voice. And it is
called ‘the Hunter,’ and rightly so; for with its
song it captivates the small birds that fly to it be-
neath the spell of its sweet music. Knowing there-
fore the natural advantage that it possesses, it
appears to employ this gift of Nature to please itself
and also to feed itself, for it delights to listen to its

α The Mynah of India.
_ 211

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, VIII. 24-26

own voice, and pursues the birds that approach it
and takes its fill of them. Anyone who hunts this
bird and confines it in a cage, gets nothing for his
pains, for he possesses a bird that refuses to sing,
seeming by its silence to punish its captor for en-
slaving it.

εὐφραίνεται, θηρῶν δὲ τὰ προσιόντα ἐμπίπλαται.
τοῦτον εἴ τίς ποτε ἐθήρασε καὶ ἐν οἰκίσκῳ
καθεῖρξεν, οὐδὲν αὐτῷ πλέον τὸ τῆς σπουδῆς"
ἔχει γὰρ ἄφωνον ὄρνιν, ὥσπερ οὖν τὸν θηράσαντα
ὑπὲρ τῆς δουλείας ἀμυνόμενον τῇ σιωπῇ.

" ΒΡ
ἘΡΕΝΝΝΥΝ ONEES lua eto ppuradmevbeitiephnmmadsani tinue arian sacsecacnce

3 7 Ss τὶ e f ?
25. “Avwrépw εἶπον ἣν ot τροχίλοι κατατίθενται

ι ’ ; 2 12 Ἀ 25. I have spoken above 5 of the benefit which the The
ἐς τοὺς κροκοδίλους εὐεργεσίαν, ἧσπερ 1 ἐν τοῖς

Egyptian Plovers confer upon Crocodiles, and p22"

ARTEL LAEETIDSAMA DAA ite et ok mm eicae nen te eee eae

3 / ? \ € 7 / 4
Αἰγυπτίοις μέμνηται καὶ ‘Hpddoros λόγοις" ὃ
δὲ οὐκ εἶπον εἰδώς, {τοῦτο " εἰρήσεται νῦν, ἵνα

Α δ / ¢ 4 7 3 3 4 ~
καὶ ἄλλος μάθῃ. 6 μὲν τροχίλος ὄρνις ἐστὶ τῶν
ἐλείων εἷς, καὶ παρὰ τὰς ὄχθας τῶν ποταμῶν
ἀλᾶται καὶ ὅ τι ἂν τύχῃ παρεκλέγων βόσκεται,

7 \ ? 4 Ἀ ¢ f ce “ \
τρέφει δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ 6 KpoKddtAos ois εἶπον. καὶ
> “A 3 o~
ἐκεῖνος αὐτὸν ἀμείβεται καθεύδοντος προμηθῶς

Α “"Ἠ “~
ἔχων Kat ὑπεραγρυπνῶν αὐτοῦ: κειμένῳ μὲν yap
καὶ ὑπνώττοντι ὃ ἐπιβουλεύει 6 ἰχνεύμων, καὶ
? \ “-- i ὔ > 4 3 4 > ?
ἐμφὺς TH δέρῃ πολλάκις ἀπέπνιξεν αὐτόν: ἀλλ
ὁ γε τροχίλος βοᾷ, καὶ παίει κατὰ τῆς ῥινὸς
: 7
αὐτόν, καὶ ἀνίστησι καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐχθρὸν ὑποθήγει.
> \ > “~ :
εἰ μὲν οὖν χρὴ τὸν ὄρνιν ἐπαινεῖν οὕτως ἔχοντα
φροντιστικῶς ξῴου παμβόρου καὶ ἀδηφάγου,
εἰσόμεθα" τὸ δ᾽ οὖν ἴδιον τῶνδε τῶν ζῴων εἶπον.

26. “H τρυγὼν (οὔ φημι νῦν τὴν ὑπαέριον, ἀλλὰ
τὴν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ) ὅτε βούλεται, νήχεται, καὶ αὖ
πάλιν ἀρθεῖσα πέτεται. ἔχει δὲ κέντρον, οὗ καὶ
ἀνωτέρω μνήμην ἐποιησάμην, θανατηφόρον. τὸ

1 εὐεργεσίαν τὴν ἐκ τῶν βδελλῶν ὥσπερ.

3 τοῦτον add. H,

8 Jac: ὑπερυπνώττοντι.

* Perh. ζἄλλοτε εἰσόμεθα, or ἐῶ H, <adAayod> Grasberger.
212

Swanssaened Berm

Herodotus mentions it in his Account of Egypt

. [2.68]. But what I did not mention, though I knew

it, 1 will mention now, in order that others also may
learn the facts.

The Egyptian Plover is one of the marsh-fowls,
and ranges along the banks of rivers, feeding upon
whatever it chances to pick up here and there, while
the Crocodile provides it with the food that I spoke
of. And the bird repays it by taking care of it and
keeping watch on its behalf while it sleeps. For as
it lies asleep the Ichneumon has designs upon it, and
fastening on its throat has often throttled it. But
the Egyptian Plover utters its cry, beats the Croco-
dile on the nose, rouses it, and eggs it on against its
enemy. Now whether we should applaud the bird
for its solicitude on behalf of an omnivorous and
gluttonous animal, we shall know later. It is the
special characteristics of these creatures that I have
mentioned.

26. The Trygon (J-am not speaking of the one that
lives in the air [z.e. the Turtle-dove] but of the one in
the sea [z.e. the Sting-ray]) swims when it wants to,
or again raises itself and flies. Its sting, of which I

@ See 3. 11.
213

AELIAN _

μὲν οὖν κεντεῖν καὶ ζῷα ἄλογα καὶ ἀνθρώπους Kat
παραχρῆμα ἀπολλύναι, οὔπω παράδοξόν ἐστιν"
ὃ δὲ ἄξιον ἐκπεπλῆχθαι, τοῦτο εἰρήσεται. δένδρῳ
τῷ μεγίστῳ καὶ πάνυ εὐθαλεῖ καὶ εὐερνεῖ καὶ
λίαν τεθηλότι τὴν χλόην εἰ προσαγάγοις τὸ

7 \ ᾽ὔ \
κέντρον Kat νύξειας + τὸ δένδρον, οὐ μετὰ μακρὸν

> é \ 7 \ > i

ἐκβάλλει τὰ φύλλα: καὶ ἐκείνων καταρρεόντων és
4 - Α “-.μ 7 , ‘

THY γῆν τὸ πᾶν πρέμνον αὐαίνεται Kal ἔοικεν

ἡλιοβλήτῳ."

27. Τίκτεται ἐλέφας κατὰ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐκπη-
δῶν, τὸ δὲ μέγεθός ἐστι τοῦ τικτομένου κατὰ
δέλφακα τὴν μεγίστην. μιᾷ δὲ μητρὶ πλείω
ἐλεφαντίσκια ἕπεται, φασίν. εἰ δὲ βούλοιο τῶν
βρεφῶν νεογόνων ὄντων προσάψασθαι, αἱ μητέρες
οὐδὲν ἀγανακτοῦσιν ἀλλὰ ἐῶσι: συνιᾶσι γὰρ ὅτι
μήτε ἐπὶ λύμῃ τις ἐπιψαύει 8 αὐτῶν μήτε ἐπὶ
κολάσει, ἀλλὰ φιλοφρονούμενοι πάντες καὶ κολα-
κεύοντες. ἐπεὶ τίς ἂν τὸ τηλικοῦτον βλάψειεν;
ὅταν δὲ θηρώμενοι ἐμπέσωσιν ἐς τὴν τάφρον,
καὶ ἴδωσιν ὅτι λοιπὸν ἄφυκτα αὐτοῖς ἐστι, τοῦ
μὲν τέως θυμοῦ τοῦ σὺν τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ λήθην
λαμβάνουσι, καὶ ὀρεγόντων συτία ἕτοίμως προ-
σίενται, καὶ ὕδωρ προτεινόντων πίνουσι, καὶ
οἶνον ἐγχεόντων ἐς τὰς προβοσκίδας οἱ δὲ τὴν
φιλοτησίαν οὐκ ἀναίνονται.

28, Τὸν ἰχθὺν τὸν ἔλλοπα ἱερὸν ἰχθὺν ὑπὸ τοῦ
ποιητοῦ κληθῆναι νομίζουσι. λέγει δέ τις λόγος 4

᾿ νύξεις MSS, νύξαις Schn.
2 ἡλιοβλήτῳ ὑπ᾽ αὐχμοῦ βιαίου ξηρῷ γεγενημένῳ.
214

nanan PONENT TATU OHEL I SULSCEIESERIES SESS ΣΤ rl SOLENT EES EMELINE ENTREE ee ETT ATER SII ALN ALM EDD EAA EET EE ELENA NTA ALCO ENED ON ΤΣ neha

αρυνόρνυιῥν κων ννα ρα ερ-τὐδ να λα enn
Sina rat EAMAA CERT RL ERAT NA

ON ANIMALS, VIII. 26-28

have spoken above, is deadly. Yet that it should
' sting brute beasts and men and kill them on the spot

is no matter for wonder. But what is startling is

this which I am about to mention. If you apply the

sting to the largest tree when in a thriving state,

flourishing, and in full foliage, and stab the tree, in a

short while it sheds its leaves, and as they float down
to earth the entire stem withers and seems as though
scorched by the sun.

97. An Elephant emerges head first at birth, and Le young

the size of it when born is that of the largest sucking-
pig. Several small Elephants follow a single mother,
so they say. Andif you want to touch the little ones
when new-born, the mothers do not resent it but
permit it. For they know that no one will lay hands

on them to do them harm or punish them, but that

everyone has kindly intentions and would pet them. —
For who would hurt such a little creature? But
when they are hunted and fall into the pit and see
that there is no escape for them, they forget the.
spirit that possessed them when they were free and
readily go for any food that is held out to them and
drink the water that is offered, and if wine is poured
into their trunks they do not refuse that loving-cup.

28. Our great poet is supposed to call the Stur-
geon (?) a ‘sacred fish’? [1]. 16. 407]. According to

one account it is rare, but is caught in the sea off.

@ See 1. 56; 2. 36, 50.
ὃ See Leaf’s note ad loc. The word ἔλλοψ does not occur
in our texts of Homer.

5. Perh, -ψαύσει H. 4 λόγος τις.

215

AELIAN

σπάνιον μὲν αὐτὸν εἶναι, ἐν δὲ τῷ κατὰ Παμφυλίαν
πελάγει θηρᾶσθαι, γλίσχρως δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖθι. ἐὰν
δὲ ἁλῷ, στεφάνοις μὲν αὐτοὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ
τῆς εὐερμίας ἀγλαΐζουσι, στεφανοῦσι δὲ καὶ τὰς
ἁλιάδας, καταίρουσί τε κρότῳ καὶ αὐλοῖς τὸ
θήραμα μαρτυρόμενοι. οἱ δὲ οὐ τοῦτον ἀλλὰ τὸν
ἀνθίαν νομίζουσιν ἱερόν. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, ἔνθα ἂν
ὅδε φανῇ τῆς θαλάττης, ἀνάγκη δήπου τὸν χῶρον
ἄθηρον εἶναι σπονδάς Te 1 ἰχθύσι πρὸς πᾶν
ὅσον ὑδροθηρικόν, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ ἰχθύες θαρ-
ροῦντες ἀποτίκτουσι. φύσεως δὲ ἀπόρρητα ἐλέγ--
yew οὐκ ἐμόν, καὶ εἰκότως, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἀλεκτρυόνα
δέδοικε λέων καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν βασιλίσκος καὶ

7 \ π 3\ 2 3 Ἁ 4 » A Ld 4
μέντοι καὶ ὗν ἐλέφας "35 τὰς δὲ αἰτίας ὅσοι σχολὴν
ἄγουσι πολλὴν ζητοῦντες τοῦ μὲν χρόνου κατα-
φρονήσουσιν, οὐ μὴν ἐς τέλος ἀφίξονται τῆς

σπουδῆς.
1. Schn: δέ. 2 Reiske: εἰς.

8 ὁ ἐλέφας.

216

τ
|

ON ANIMALS, VITI. 28

Pamphylia, though even there hardly at all. But if
it is caught, the fishermen deck themselves with
garlands to celebrate their good luck; they garland
the fishing-boats as well, and put into port, as with
cymbals and flutes they summon people to bear
witness to their catch.

Others however consider that the Anthias, and The Anthias

not this fish, is sacred. And the reason is that in
whatever part of the sea it appears, that spot is
presumably bound to be free from savage creatures
and there is peace between fish and everything that
seeks its prey in the waters, while the fish themselves
bring forth their young without fear.

But it is no business of mine to explore the
mysteries of Nature, and rightly so, since the lion
goes in fear of the cock, and so does the basilisk,
moreover the elephant dreads a pig. But those who
have much leisure to spend in seeking the reasons -
for these things will take no account of time, and for
all that, will never come to the end of their researches.

217

BOOK IX

Θ

1. Ὁ λέων ἤδη προήκων τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ γήρᾳ βα-
ρὺς γεγενημένος θηρᾶν μὲν ἧκιστός ἐστιν, ἀσμένως

ἐ ἀναπαύεται ἐν ταῖς ὑπάντροις 7 λοχμώδεσι
καταδρομαῖς, καὶ τῶν θηρίων. οὐδὲ τοῖς ἀσθενεστά-
τοις ἐπιθαρρεῖ, τόν τε αὑτοῦ χρόνον ὑφορώμενος
καὶ τὸ τοῦ σώματος ἐννοῶν ἀσθενές. οἱ δὲ ἐξ
αὐτοῦ γεγενημένοι θαρροῦντες τῇ τῆς ἡλικίας
ἀκμῇ καὶ τῇ ῥώμῃ τῇ συμφυεῖ προΐασι μὲν ἐπὶ
ἥραν, ἐπάγονται δὲ καὶ τὸν , ἤδη γέροντα, ὠθούντες
αὐτόν: εἶτα ἐπὶ μέσης τῆς ὁδοῦ ἧς ἐλθεῖν δεῖ
καταλιπόντες, ἔχονται τῆς ἄγρας αὐτοί, καὶ
τυχόντες τοσούτων ὅσα ἀποχρήσει καὶ αὐτοῖς καὶ
τῷ γεγεννηκότι 1 σφᾶς, βρυχησάμενοι γενναῖόν
τε καὶ διάτορον καλοῦσιν ὃ ws δαιτυμόνα ἑστιά-
τορες ἐπὶ θοίνην οἱ νέοι τὸν “γεγηρακότα, τὸν πα-
τέρα οἱ παῖδες. 6 δὲ ἡσυχῆ καὶ βάδην καὶ οἷον
ἕρπων ἔρχεται, καὶ περιβαλὼν τοὺς παῖδας, καὶ
τῇ γλώττῃ μικρὰ ὑποσήνας, ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπαινῶν
τῆς εὐθηρίας, ἔχεται τοῦ δείπνου, καὶ σὺν τοῖς
υἱέσιν ἑστιᾶται. καὶ Σόλων μὲν τοῖς λέουσιν οὐ
κελεύει ταῦτα," διδάσκει δὲ ἡ φύσις, ἣ νόμων
ἀνθρωπικῶν οὐδὲν μέλει" γίνεται δὲ ἄτρεπτος
αὕτη νόμος.

1 Schn: γεγενηκότι.

ἢ καλοῦσιν τὸν πατέρα.
8 ταῦτα νομοθετῶν τρέφειν τοὺς πατέρας ἐπάναγκες.

220

BOOK ΙΧ

1. When the Lion is advanced in years and heavy
with age he is quite incapable of hunting and is glad
to take his ease in caves or lairs in the jungle; nor
has he the spirit to attack even the weakest of
animals, for he mistrusts his age and is conscious of
his bodily infirmity. Whereas his offspring con-
fident in the vigour of their youth and their natural
strength go out to hunt and bring the old one with
them by pushing him along. Then, when they have
come half the necessary distance, they leave him
behind and give themselves to the chase. And
when they have obtained enough for themselves and
for their sire, with a magnificent and thrilling roar,
even as banqueters summon a guest, so do these
young children summon their aged father to the
feast. And he comes softly, step by step, and almost
crawling, and embraces his children, fawning upon
them a little with his tongue as though he applauded
their success, and attacks the meal and feasts with
his sons. This is no order of Solon’s to the Lions:
it is Nature that teaches them—Nature that ‘ recks
nought of laws’ [Kur. fr. 920 N] made by man.
But she is a law that does not change.

221

a Lion in

old age

AELIAN '

2. ‘Tov ἀετὸν τὸν τῶν ὀρνίθων βασιλέα οὐ μόνον
περιόντα 1 καὶ ζῶντα δέδοικε τὰ ὄρνεα καὶ κατα-
πτήσσει φανέντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πτερὰ ἐκείνου ἐάν
τις τοῖς τῶν ἄλλων ΄συναναμίξῃ, τὰ μὲν τοῦ ἀετοῦ
μένει ὁλόκληρα καὶ ἀνεπιβούλευτα, τὰ δὲ ἕτερα
κατασήπεται τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα κοινωνίαν οὐ φέροντα.

9. Οἱ μύες εἰσὶ μὲν καὶ ἄλλως πολύγονον ζῷον,
καὶ ἀθρόᾳ τῇ ὠδῖνι πολλὰ τίκτουσιν: εἰ δέ πως
καὶ ἁλὸς γευσάμενοι τύχοιεν, ἐνταῦθα δήπου καὶ
πάμπολλα ἀποκυΐσκουσι καὶ πλείω τῆς συνηθείας
πολλῷ. οἱ δὲ κροκόδιλοι, ὃ ὅταν τέκωσι, τὸ γνήσιον
καὶ τὸ νόθον τόνδε τὸν τρόπον ἐλέγχουσιν. ἐάν τι
παραχρῆμα ἐκγλυφεὶς ἁρπάσῃ, τελεῖ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐ ἐς
τὸ γένος, καὶ φιλεῖται “τοῖς γειναμένοις, καὶ
πεπίστευται κροκοδίλων εἷς εἶναι καὶ ἠρίθμηται-
ἐὰν δὲ ἐλινύσῃ καὶ βλακεύσῃ καὶ μὴ λάβῃ ποθὲν ἢ 7
μυῖαν ἢ σέρφον ἢ ἔντερον γῆς 7 σαῦρον τῶν
νεαρῶν, διέσπασεν ὁ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτὸν «ὡς ἀδόκιμόν TE
καὶ κίβδηλον καὶ προσήκοντά ot οὐδὲ ἕν. Kal
δοκοῦσιν, ὡς οἵδε οἱ θῆρες, καὶ οἱ ἀετοὶ βασανίζον-
τες καὶ ἐκεῖνοι τὰ γνήσια τῇ ἀκτῖνι τοῦ ἡλίου
κρίσει φιλεῖν τὰ ἔκγονα καὶ οὐ πάθει.

4, ᾿Ακούω δὲ τοὺς ὀδόντας τῆς ἀσπίδος, οὗς ἂν
ἰοφόρους τις εἴποι καλῶν ὀρθῶς, ἔχειν οἱονεὶ
χιτῶνας περικειμένους ἄγαν λεπτοὺς καὶ ὑμέσι
παραπλησίους, ὑφ᾽ ὧν περιαμπέχονται. ὅταν οὖν
ἐμφύσῃ τινὶ τὸ στόμα ἡ ἀσπίς, διαστέλλεσθαι 2
μέν φασι Ta ὑμένια, ἐκχεῖσθαι δὲ τὸν ἰόν, καὶ

1 παρόντα MSS, H would read ζ. καὶ ἔτι περιόντα, cp. 11. 39.

222

ON ANIMALS, IX. 2-4

2. Not only when he is alive and active do birds ‘rhe Bagie’s
dread the Eagle, the king of birds, and cower down ®*bers
when he appears, but if one mixes his feathers with

those of other birds, the Eagle’s remain entire and
untainted, while the others, unable to endure the

association, rot away.

3. Mice, besides being prolific creatures, bring ‘The Mouse
forth many offspring at a single birth; and if by
some means they happen to eat salt, then they bring
forth a great number and far more than is customary. The Croco-
And when Crocodiles give birth they test the legiti- die and its
mate and the bastard offspring in this manner. ip"
on being hatched a young Crocodile immediately
seizes something, it is henceforward reckoned among
the family and is loved by its parents, is believed to
be, and is counted as, one of the Crocodiles. If
however it remains inactive and is lazy and fails to
seize some fly or gnat or earthworm or young lizard,
the sire tears it to pieces as a poor creature, spurious,
and no kin of his. And as these creatures act, even
so do Eagles appear to test their legitimate offspring
by the rays of the sun @ and to love them as the result
of judgment and not of any feeling.

4. I have heard that the Asp’ s fangs, which one ‘The Asp,
would be correct in styling ‘ poison-carriers,’ have ' pee
an exceedingly thin coating, so to say, round them,
like membrane, covering them all over. So when
the Asp fastens its mouth on a man, they say that
these membranes part and the poison is ejected,

@ See 2. 96.

2 στρέφεσθαι.

223

AELIAN

πάλιν συντρέχειν ἐκεῖνα καὶ ἑνοῦσθαι. τοῦ ye μὴν
σκορπίου τὸ κέντρον ἔχειν τινὰ κολπώδη διπλόην
ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν λεπτότητος οὐ πάνυ τι 1 σύνοπτον.
καὶ εἶναι μὲν τὸ φάρμακον καὶ τίκτεσθαι λέγουσιν
ἐνταῦθα, ἅμα δὲ τῇ κρούσει προϊέναι διὰ τοῦ
κέντρου καὶ ἐκρεῖν. ὁπὴν δὲ εἶναι δι᾿ ἧς ἔξεισιν
οὐδὲ ταύτην ὄψει θεωρητήν. ἀνθρώπου δὲ σιάλῳ
καταπτύοντος ἀμβλύνεσθαι τὸ κέντρον καὶ μαλ-
κίειν καὶ ἐς τὴν πληγὴν ἀδύνατον γίνεσθαι.

. Ἢ κύων εἰ καὶ πολλὰ τίκτει σκυλάκια, ἀλλὰ
a τὸ πρῶτον τῆς μήτρας * προελθὸν καὶ τῆς ὃ
ὠδῖνος πρεσβύτατον ὃν κατηγορεῖ τὸν πατέρα.

“
ἐκείνῳ γοῦν ὁμοιότατον τίκτεται πάντως, τὰ δὲ
4 ¢ av “ ” \ “~ 3 “ ¢
ἄλλα ws av τύχῃ. ἔοικε δὲ φιλοσοφεῖν ἐν τῷδε ἡ
φύσις, προτιμῶσα τοῦ ὑποδεχομένου τὸ σπεῖρον.

6. Τῶν ὀστρακονώτων τε καὶ ὀστρακοδέρμων
καὶ τοῦτο ἴδιον. κενώτερά πως ταῦτα καὶ κουφό-
τερα ὑποληγούσης τῆς σελήνης φιλεῖ γίνεσθαι. καὶ
τῶν μὲν ὀστρακονώτων ἐλέγχουσιν ὃ ὃ λέγω πορφύραι
καὶ κήρυκες καὶ σφόνδυλοι. καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὁμοφυῆ"
τῶν δὲ ἑτέρων πάγουροί τε καὶ κάραβοι καὶ
ἀστακοὶ καὶ καρκίνοι καὶ εἴ τι τούτων συγγενές.
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τῶν ὑποζυγίων τὰ τικτόμενα ληγού-
σης τῆς. σελήνης ἀδυνατώτερα τῶν ἄλλων εἶναι
καὶ ἀσθενέστερα, καὶ μέντοι καὶ συμβουλεύουσιν

1 πάντη. 2 Reiske: μητρός Mss, Η.
3 καὶ ἐκείνης τῆς.

@ See Thompson, Gk. fishes, s.v. σπόνδυλος, O. Keller, Ant.
Tierwelt 2, 561.

224

ON ANIMALS, IX. 4-6

and then again they close and unite. Again, the

sting of the Scorpion has a kind of hollow core, so very The

fine as to be hardly visible. That is where they say |
the poison resides and is engendered, and directly the
Scorpion strikes, the poison shoots forward along the
sting and flows out. And this opening also, through
which it passes, is so fine as to be invisible to the eye.
But if a man spits upon it the sting is blunted and
numbed and becomes incapable of wounding.

5. Even if a Bitch produces a number of puppies, Puppies

it is nevertheless the one that issues first from.the
womb and the eldest of the litter that declares the
sire. At any rate it bears the closest resemblance
to him in every respect, while the rest are born as
chance may dictate. In this matter Nature appears
to pursue reason in setting the male which sows
above the female which receives.

6. Here is another characteristic of Testaceans The Moon,

and Crustaceans. As the moon wanes they are in

the habit of somehow becoming both emptier and and Animals

lighter. Among Testaceans the purple shellfish,
whelks, red thorny oysters,* and those of the same
species prove my statement; among Crustaceans,
edible crabs, crayfish,” lobsters, crabs in general,°
and all their kin. It is also asserted that the young
of beasts of burden born when the moon is on the
wane are less capable and feebler than others, and
what is more, those who have knowledge of these

Ὁ At 11. 37 κάραβοι are included among Testacea.
° Kapxivos is the generic term for crabs of all kinds, πάγουρος
the common or edible crab.

225

VOL. 11, I

το τος τοι κύκνο πε τος 3 ὧν

AELIAN

ob τούτων ἐπιστήμονες τὰ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει. τοῦ
μηνὸς γεννώμενα μὴ τρέφειν. μὴ γὰρ εἶναι

2 7 ‘ Ἃ 7 Ἅ \ “σι
σπουδαῖα αὐτά. κατὰ τὴν νουμηνίαν δὲ τὰ ζῷα,

ὡς πυνθάνομαι, ἢ φθέγγεταί τι τῇ συντρόφῳ
φωνῇ ἢ πίπτει: λέων δὲ ἄρα μόνος, ὡς ᾿Αριστοτέ-
ns φησίν, οὐδέτερον 1 αὐτοῖν dpa.

Τὴ ᾿Ακοὴν * ὀξύτατον τὸν λάβρακα ᾿ΑΆριστο-

τέλης εἶναί φησι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν χρόμιν καὶ
τὴν σάλπην καὶ Tov κεστρέα. πυνθάνομαι δὲ > τὸν

λάβρακα σαφῶς εἰδέναι ὅτι ἄρα ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ
αὐτοῦ λιθίδιόν ἐστι. καὶ χειμῶνος τοῦτο ψυχρό-
τατον γίνεται, καὶ λυπεῖ αὐτὸν ἰσχυρῶς. ταύτῃ
τοι καὶ κατ᾽ ἐκείνην τὴν ὥραν τοῦ ἔτους ἀλεαΐνειν
αὑτόν, καὶ ἐπινοεῖν τῇ ψύξει τῇ ἐκ τοῦ λίθου
φάρμακον τοῦτο καὶ “μάλα γε ἀντίπαλον. καὶ
χρόμιν δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν καὶ φάγρον καὶ σκίαιναν
πέπυσμαι" ἔχειν γάρ τοι * ὅμοιον λίθον καὶ ταῦτα.

Παράσιτοι δὲ ἄρα. καὶ ἐν ἰχθύων γένει ἦσαν.
ὁ γοῦν φθεὶρ. οὕτω λεγόμενος παρατρώγει τῶν τοῦ

“ i ε \ [χὰ + “᾿ , ¢ 4
. δελφῖνος θηραμάτων: 6 δὲ ἥδεται αὐτῷ καὶ ἑκὼν

μεταδίδωσιν. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ πιότατός ἐστιν, ὥσπερ
οὖν ἐκ πλουσίας καὶ ἀμφιλαφοῦς ἑστιάσεως
ἐμπιπλάμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦ Μενάνδρου Θήρων
μέγα φρονεῖ, ὅ ὅτι ῥινῶν ἀνθρώπους φάτνην αὐτοὺς
ἐκείνους εἶχε: ἸΚλείσοφος δὲ ὅ καὶ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν
τὸν ἕτερον oo κατελάμβανε, Φιλίππῳ χαριζό-

1 οὐθέτερον.
5» ‘ 3 X 3
ἀκοὴν ἀγαθὸν καί ὁ.
" τε.
4 ror.
5 εἶχεν' καὶ ὃ Lrpovfias τοιοῦτος. Ἰζλείδημος δέ 6 Φιλίππου.

2

226

ON ANIMALS, IX. 6-7

matters recommend that animals born in this part

of the month should not be reared on the ground that
they are not of good quality. Whereas animals born
at the new moon, as I learn, either utter their
natural sound or drop. The Lion alone, as Aristotle
says,* does neither.

7 (i). Aristotle asserts [HA 534 a 9] that the Basse ἽΝ aoe
is extremely quick of hearing, and so too are the otolith

Chromis,° the Saupe, and the Mullet. I have ascer-
tained also that the Basse knows full well that there
is in fact a small stone °¢ in its head, and this in winter
becomes intensely cold and causes it severe. pain.
This is why at that season of the year it warms
itself* and devises this highly effective remedy

against the cold due to the stone. And the Chr omis,
the Sea-bream, and the Maigre, I learn, do the same,
for these fish also have a similar stone.

(ii). It seems that among fishes also there exist cra
parasites. At any rate the Sucking-fish, as it is «parasites"

called, nibbles what the dolphin catches, and the
dolphin is glad that he should, and willingly allows
him a share. That is why the fish is exceedingly
plump, like one gorged with a rich and abundant
feast. And Theron in. Menander’s play [frr. 895,
937 K] boasts that he has led men by the nose and
used them as his manger. And Cleisophus S covered
one of his eyes with a bandage out of compliment to

° Not in any extant work; fr. 236 (Rose, p. 254).

> Perhaps identical with σκίαινα, Maigre; Thompson, Gk.
hes, 85... σκίαινα.

¢ The otolith.

@ See 9. 57.

ὁ In the Greek sense of ‘ hangers-on.’

7 See Ath. 6. 248 Ὁ, and Ael. frr. 107, 108.

227

ig

AEKLIAN

μενος ἐν τῇ τῆς Μεθώνης πολιορκίᾳ τὸν ἕτερον
ἐκκοπέντι. φιλία δὲ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν καὶ συντροφία
τῷ φθειρὶ πρὸς τὸν δελφϊῖνά ἐστι’ κολακεύειν μὲν
γὰρ ὡς καὶ ἄλλα κακὰ ἄνθρωπος οἶδε, τὰ δὲ
ἄλογα οὐκ older.

8. ἜΠπλέφαντος δὲ ἄρα ἐς τὰ τέκνα καὶ ἐκεῖνο
φίλτρον ἰσχυρόν. οἱ τούτων θηραταὶ τάφρους
ὀρύττουσιν, ἐς ἃς ἐμπίπτει 1 τὰ ζῷα ταῦτα, καὶ
τὰ μὲν ἁλίσκεται, τὰ δὲ ἀναιρεῖται. καὶ τίς ὁ
τρόπος τῆς τοιᾶσδε ταφρεύσεως καὶ τὸ σχῆμα
ὁποῖον καὶ ὅπόσον 2 τὸ βάθος ὃ καὶ ἔσοδοι ποταπαΐ,
ἀλλαχόθεν εἴσεσθε: ἐκκαλύψων δὲ ἔγωγε καὶ
ἐλέγξων τὴν στοργὴν ἔρχομαι. ἡ μήτηρ θεα-
σαμένη τὸ ἑαυτῆς βρέφος ἐς μίαν τῶν τάφρων
ἐμπεσόν, οὔτε ἐμέλλησεν οὔτε βλακεύουσα διέ-
τριψεν, ἀλλὰ ὡς εἶχεν ὁρμῆς ἐκθύμως καὶ περιπα-
θῶς ἐπιδραμοῦσα, κατὰ τοῦ παιδὸς αὑτὴν ἔωσεν
ἐς κεφαλήν, καὶ ἄμφω κατὰ ταὐτὸν τὸ τέλος
εἰχέτην' oO μὲν yap ἐκ τοῦ μητρῴου βάρους
πιεσθεὶς συνετρίβη, ἡ δὲ <KaTa> κεφαλὴν
déaca. . . γελοῖοι τοίνυν εἰσὶν ot διαποροῦντες
εἰ φυσικὴ πρὸς τὰ ἔκγονα στοργή ἐστιν.

9, Αἱ δὲ φῶκαι τίκτουσι μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, κατὰ ὃ
μικρὰ δὲ ὑπάγουσιν ἑαυτῶν τὰ σκυλάκια ἐς τὸ
νοτερόν, καὶ ἀπογεύουσι τῆς θαλάττης, εἶτα
ἐπανάγουσιν ἐς τὸν τῆς ὠδῖνος τόπον τὸν ἐξ
ἀρχῆς, καὶ αὖ πάλιν κατάγουσιν ἐς τὴν θάλατταν,

2 Schn: ὅποῖον.

1 ἐμπίπτουσι.
4 Reiske: ἐκπιεσθείς.

8 Gron: πάθος.
228

ON ANIMALS, IX. 7-9

Philip who had lost an eye at the siege of Methone.*

‘Sucking-fish and dolphin are in my opinion friends ©

and messmates, for whereas man understands
flattery like other vices, brute beasts do not.

8. Here again is an example of the Elephant’s
strong affection for its young. Elephant-hunters

dig trenches and these animals fall into them, and yours

while some are captured, others are killed. You
will learn from other sources how they dig these
trenches, how they are shaped, how deep, and what
the entrances to them are like. I however propose
to reveal and demonstrate the Elephant’s affection.
When the mother sees her young one has fallen into
one of the trenches, she does not hesitate, does not
waste time, but rushing up at full speed, all courage
and passion, hurls herself upon the head of her child,
and the pair meet one and the same end, for the
young one is crushed by the mother’s weight; she
falls on her head . . . So those who doubt whether
Elephants have a natural affection for their offspring
are absurd.

9. Seals give birth on land, but by degrees lead The Seal

their cubs down to the water and give them a taste
of the sea. Then they lead them back to the
original place of their birth, and again bring them
down to the sea, and quickly lead them out, and by

* On the NW coast of the Thermaic gulf; taken by
Philip II after a prolonged siege, 352 8.6.

᾿ ζκατὰν κεφαλὴν daca ...]@ main verb wanting, Gow, τὴν
4
kK. ἀΐξασα MSS, ζκατὰν τὴν kK. a. ἢ.
6 Reiske: καὶ κατά.

229

AELIAN

4 A » 5 7 A id , «--ς
καὶ ταχέως e€ayovot' καὶ ὅταν πολλάκις τοῦτο
δράσωσι, τελευτῶσαι νηκτικώτατα ἀπέφηναν αὐτὰ
e ὃ ͵ ὃ "ἢ 4 r , / € Ζ ~~
ῥᾳδίως δὲ ἐς τὸν θα ἅττιον βίον ὑπολισθάνει, τῆς 1
διδασκαλίας μὲν προαγούσης αὐτά, βιαξομένης δὲ
τῆς φύσεως τῶν μητρῴων καὶ ἠθῶν καὶ ἐθῶν ἐρᾶν.

10. ᾿Αετὸς ζῷον πλεονεκτικόν, καὶ δι’ ἁρπαγῶν
ποιοῦνται {τὰς 5 τροφάς, καὶ σαρκῶν ἐσθίουσι:
καὶ γὰρ λαγὼς ἁρπάξουσι καὶ νεβρὸν καὶ χῆνα ἐξ
αὐλῆς καὶ ἄλλα. μόνος δὲ ἄρα ἐν αὐτοῖς ὅσπερ
οὖν καὶ Διὸς κέκληται κρεῶν οὐχ ἅπτεται, ἀλλὰ
ἀπόχρη ot πόα: καὶ ἸΠυθαγόρου τοῦ Σαμίου
διακούσας οὐδὲ ἕν, ὅμως ἐμψύχων ἀπέχεται.

11. Ee τοῦ φαλαγγίου καὶ μόνον ἐφάψαιυτό τις,
ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτὸν μηδὲ ὀδυνηθέντα φασὶν ὃ ἰσχυρῶς.
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀσπίδος δῆγμα πραότατον εἶναι
ἤλεγξε λεοπάτρα, ὅτε τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ προσιόντος 4
ἀνώδυνον ὅ θάνατον ἐν τοῖς συμποσίοις ἐβασάνιζε,
καὶ τὸν μὲν διὰ τοῦ ξίφους εὕρισκεν ἀλγεινόν, τῶν
τιτρωσκομένων τοῦτο ὁμολογούντων, τὸν δὲ διὰ
τῶν φαρμάκων λυπηρόν: σπασμὸν γάρ τινα
ἐμποιεῖν καὶ καρδιώττειν ἀναγκάζειν: τὸν δὲ ἐκ
τοῦ δήγματος τῆς ἀσπίδος πρᾶον εἷναι καὶ ἵνα
᾿Ομηρείως ° εἴπω ἀβληχρόν. ἔστι δὲ ἃ 7 καὶ
μόνον ἁψαμένους ἀπέκτεινε καὶ προσερυγόντα δέ,
ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ κεντρίνης 8 καὶ ἡ φρύνη.

12. Σὺ μέν μοι λέξεις ὃ πανοῦργον εἶναι ζῷον
ἀλώπεκα, ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἐκ τῆς γῆς τρεφομένην"
2 (rds) add. H.

4 Schn : προϊόντος.

1 Reiske: καὶ τῆς.
3 Ges: φησί
: φησίν.
230

ON ANIMALS, IX. 9-τ

doing this many times they end by making them

excellent swimmers. And they easily slide into life

in the sea: their instruction affords an inducement,

while Nature forces them to love the haunts and the
habits of their mothers.

10. The Eagle is a predatory bird: it feeds upon The Eagle
what it can rob, and eats flesh. For it seizes hares,
fawns, and geese from the courtyard, and other
creatures. Only the Eagle which is called * Zeus’s ‘Zeus's
bird ’ does not touch meat: for it, grass is sufficient. 3:
And though it has never heard of Pythagoras of
Samos, for all that it abstains from animal food.

11. If one merely touches a Malmignatte, it kills, The
they say, without any violent pain. Moreover ead the ua
Cleopatra established that the bite of an Asp is their bites
exceedingly gentle, when as Augustus was approach-
ing she made enquiries at her banquets for a form of
death that should be painless: death by the sword,
she was told, entailed suffering, as was confessed by
those who were wounded; death by drinking poison
caused distress, for it produced convulsions and pains
in the stomach; whereas death from the bite of an
Asp was gentle (πρᾶος), or to use Homer's word
[Od. 11. 186] ἀβληχρός (faint, mild). And there are
some creatures that kill by a belch those that only
touch them, as for instance the dipsas and the toad.

12. You will tell me that the Fox is a creature full The Fox-
of guile; this is the fox that lives on the land. But ἘΠῚ Ὲ

6. Ὁμήρῳ ἰδίως or ὁμοίως.
8 κεντρίτης. 9 λέγεις.

23%

5 αἱρεθεῖσα ἀνώδυνον.
? Jac: ὅτε.

AELIAN

ἄκουε δὲ καὶ {τὰς 1 τῆς θαλαττίας μηχανάς, καὶ
ὁποῖα δρᾷ καὶ ἐκείνη πυνθάνου. ἢ γὰρ οὐ πρόσεισι
τῷ ἀγκίστρῳ τὴν ἀρχήν, ἢ καταπιοῦσα παρα-
χρῆμα ἑαυτῆς τὸ ἐντὸς μετεκδῦσα ἔστρεψεν 2 ἔξω,
ὥσπερ οὖν χιτῶνα τὸ σῶμα ἀνελίξασα, καὶ τοῦτον
δήπου τὸν τρόπον ἐξεώσατο τὸ ἄγκιστρον.

18. Ἴυγγας ἐρωτικὰς ἄνθρωποί φασιν εἶναί
7 \ 3 / 7 ¢ 7

τινας, μίξεως δὲ ἀφροδισίου σύνθημα ὃ βάτραχος
ἀφίησι πρὸς τὴν θήλειαν βοήν τινα, ὡς ἐραστὴς
φδήν τινα κωμαστικήν, καὶ κέκληται ἥδε ἡ βοὴ
ὀλολυγών, ὥς φασιν. ὅταν δὲ τὴν θήλειαν προσ-
αγάγηται, μένουσιν ἄμφω τὴν νύκτα: ἐν μὲν γὰρ
τῷ ὕδατι συνελθεῖν οὐ δύνανται, μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν δὲ
ἐπὶ γῆς συμπλακῆναι ὀρρωδοῦσι. νυκτὸς δὲ ἐπι-

’ Ἁ λλ } \ 10 AE / 3
στάσης κατὰ πολλὴν τὴν ἄδειαν προελθόντες
ἀλλήλων ἀπολαύουσιν.

¢ \ 7 / , ᾿ ‘

Orav dé βάτραχοι yeywrdrepov φθέγγωνται καὶ
τῆς συνηθείας λαμπρότερον, ἐπιδημίαν δηλοῦσιν
¢ ~
ὑετοῦ.

14. Εἴ τις προσάψαιτο τῆς νάρκης ὅτι τὸ ἐκ
τοῦ ὀνόματος πάθος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καταλαμβάνει,
τοῦτο καὶ παιδάριον ὧν ἤκουσα τῆς μητρὸς
λεγούσης πολλάκις. σοφῶν δὲ ἀνδρῶν ἐπυθόμην
ὅτι καὶ τοῦ δικτύου ἐν ᾧ τεθήραται 4 εἴ τις προσ-
άψαυτο, ναρκᾷ πάντως. εἰ δέ τις ἐς σκεῦος
αὐτὴν ἐμβάλοι ζῶσαν, καὶ ἐπιχέοι θαλαττίου
ὕδατος, ἐὰν ἐγκύμων ἢ Kal ὅ καιρὸς τῆς ὠδῖνος
ἀφίκηται, τίκτει. καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ σκεύει ὕδωρ εἴ τις

1 <rds> add. H. 2 ἔστρεψεν οὕτως.
232

ON ANIMALS, IX. 12-14

listen also to the wiles of the Fox-shark and learn the
kind of things it does. Either it will not come near
the hook at all, or else it swallows it and immediately
turns itself inside out, reversing its body just like a
garment, and in this way no doubt it gets rid of the

hook.

13. Men say that there are certain spells to cause
love; the Frog as a signal for sexual intercourse
emits a certain cry to the female, like a lover singing
a serenade, and this cry is called its croak, so they
say. And when it attracts the female to itself they
wait for the night. They cannot copulate under
water, and they shun mutual embraces on land in
the daytime. But when night descends they emerge
with complete fearlessness and take their pleasure
of one another.

Whenever Frogs utter their cry more loudly and
more clearly than is their wont, it signifies that rain
is coming.

14. I have often heard my mother say, when I was The Torpedo

a child, that if a man touches a Torpedo, his hand is
seized with the affliction corresponding to its name
(torpor). And I have learnt from persons of ex-
perience that if a man touches even the net in which |
it has been captured his entire body is numbed.

And if one throws it alive into a vessel and pours
salt water upon it, and if the fish happens to be
pregnant and the time of its delivery is at hand,
then it gives birth. And if one pours the water in

3 Schn: προσελθόντες. 4 θηρᾶται.

233

ΔΕΙΙΑΝ | = ON ANIMALS, IX. 14-16

the vessel over a man’s hand or foot, the hand or foot

καταχέοι 1 χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου 1 ἢ ποδός,Σ ναρκᾶν τὴν ὶ
is inevitably eee

χεῖρα ἢ τὸν πόδα ἀνάγκη.

15. Neither in the stings nor in the bites which The The stings
1

15. Τὰ ῷα οὔτε ἐν ταῖς πληγαῖς οὔτε ἐν τοῖς
ἐᾷ ly they inflict do animals always retain the same force, oF various

' δήγμασιν ἀεὶ τὴν αὐτὴν δύναμιν ἴ ἴσχει, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιτεί-

νεται πολλάκις ἔκ τινος αἰτίας. ὁ γοῦν σφὴξ
γευσάμενος ἔχεως χαλεπώτερός ἐστι τὴν πληγήν,
καὶ ἢ μυῖα τοιούτῳ τινὶ προσελθοῦσα πικροτέρα
“΄ 3 7 " -
δακεῖν ἐστι καὶ ὀδύνας ἔδωκε, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῆς
~~ 7 ~ 3 ?
ἀσπίδος τὸ δῆγμα γίνεται παντελῶς ἀνήκεστον,
34 7 ; € \ 7 e 7 4 3%
ἐὰν βατράχου φάγῃ. ὁ δὲ κύων ὑγιαίνων μὲν ἐὰν
δάκῃ, τραῦμα εἰργάσατο καὶ ἀλγηδόνα. ἐξῆψεν.
ἐὰν δὲ λυττῶν, διέφθειρεν." ἀκέστρια δὲ ἀ ἀκουμένη
χιτώνιον ῥαγὲν ὑπὸ λυττῶντος κυνός, δακοῦσά
΄᾿ /
πῶς TH στόματι TO χιτώνιον, ἵνα ἀποτείνῃ αὐτό,
*\ 7 4 3 / 3 ? \ 3 7 a“
ἐλύττησε καὶ ἀπέθανεν. ἀνθρώπου δὲ ἀσίτου δῆγμα
ἢ ᾿ , λ ) ὃ ,o¢« ?
χαλεπὸν καὶ δυσίατον. λέγονται δὲ ot Σκύθαι
πρὸς τῷ τοξικῷ, ᾧ τοὺς ὀιστοὺς ἐπιχρίουσι, καὶ
ἀνθρώπειον ἰχῶρα ἀναμιγνύναν φαρμάττοντες, ἐπι-
πολάζοντά πως αἵματι, ὅνπερ ἴσασιν ἀπόκριμα
αὐτοῖς 7... τεκμηριῶσαι τοῦτο καὶ Θεόφραστος
¢
ἱκανός.

16. Ὅταν ἀποδύσηται τὸ γῆρας ὁ ὄφις (ὑπαρ-
χομένου δὲ τοῦ ἦρος δρᾷ τοῦτο), ἐνταῦθά τοι καὶ
τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὴν ἀχλὺν καὶ τὸ ἀμβλὺ τῆς ὄψεως
ῥύπτεται καὶ ἐκεῖνο ὡς γῆρας ὀφθαλμῶν, τῷ δὲ

1 Lobeck: καταχέει.
2 χειρί. . . ποδί.

3 διέφθειρεν: ὕδωρ τε δεδιέναι. κατηνάγκασε πρῶτον, καὶ ὃ

f “-- 7 3 fa 3 4 > é ’ ¢ 2
μετριάσαι δοκῶν πάλιν ἐξάπτεται εἰς τὴν ὀδύνην καὶ ὑλακτήσας
ἀπέθανεν.

234

but it is often augmented from some cause. For creatures

instance, if a Wasp has tasted a viper’s flesh its sting
is fiercer; and if a Fly has been near something of
the same kind its bite is sharper and causes pain; the
bite of an Asp too is rendered quite incurable if it
eatsofafrog. Ifa healthy Dog bites a man, it causes
a wound and a burning pain, but if the Dog is mad,
the bite is deadly. A sempstress was mending a
shirt that had been torn by a mad Dog, when she
somehow bit it with her mouth in order to stretch the
shirt: she went mad and died. The bite of a human
being when fasting is dangerous and hard to cure.
And the Scythians are even said to mix serum from
the human body with the poison that they smear
upon their arrows to drug them. This serum some-
how floats on the surface of the blood (and they know
a means of separating it?).¢ Theophrastus ὃ is a
sufficient witness to the fact.

16. When a Snake sloughs its old skin (it does so The Snake
at the beginning of spring), then is the time when it ¢ πο τις

purges away the mist over its eyes and the dullness
of its sight and what I may call the ‘ old age’ of its

α The text is corrupt and the translation conjectural; cp.
[Arist.] Mirab. 845 a5. Post’s conjecture might be rendered
‘which is a secretion that comes when they agitate the blood.’

> Not in any extant work.

4 ὅνπερ... αὐτοῖς corrupt: ὃν περιζσεί)σασιν a. ad. con).
Post.

235.

AELIAN

μαράθῳ ὑποθήγων * τε καὶ παραψήχων τὸ ὄμμα
εκάτερον, εἶτα ἐξάντης τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους γίνεται.
ἀμβλυώττει δὲ ἄρα διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος φωλεύσας ἐν
μυχῷ καὶ σκότῳ. οὐκοῦν μαλκίουσαν ἐκ τῶν
κρυμῶν τοῦ Cwou? τὴν ὄψιν ὑποθερμαῖνον τὸ
μάραθον καθαίρει, καὶ ὀξυωπέστερον ἀποφαίνει.

17. Ἢ ἀλκυὼν ὅταν αἴσθηται ἑαυτῆς κυούσης,
τηνικαῦτα τοι“ ἐς τὴν τῶν νεοττῶν ὑποδοχὴν
καλιὰν ἐργάζεται, οὔτε πηλοῦ καὶ ὀρόφου ὡς ἡ
χελιδὼν δεομένη καὶ οἴκων, καὶ ἄκλητος ἐσιοῦσα
ξένη, καὶ λυποῦσα τὰ ἑωθινὰ τῷ ὁ λάλῳ καὶ
μέντοι καὶ διακόπτουσα τῶν ὕπνων τὸν ἥδιστον,
οὔτε πάλιν τῷ σώματι... 3. μόνῳ ἐν ἐλευθέροις

,ὔ ὔ ~ 7
χωρίοις ἔχεται τοῦ προειρημένου, συμπλέκουσα δὲ.

καὶ ἀθροίζουσα τὰς τῆς βελόνης ἀκάνθας, δεσμῷ
τινι ἀπορρήτῳ τῆς εὐθημοσύνης περιλαμβάνει τὸ
ποίημα. ip ἐς τὸ εὐθὺ ὃ
ρίημα. τὰς μὲν γὰρ ἐς τὸ εὐθὺϑ κατέδησεν
αὐτῶν, τὰς δὲ ἐπικαρσίας (ὑφαντικῆς ἐπιστήμονα
γυναῖκα εἴποις av? τῷ στήμονι τὴν κρόκην ἐπι-
πλέκειν), στρογγύλον δὲ ἡσυχῆ τὸ ἔργον ἀποφαίνει
καὶ κολπῶδες,δ οἱονεὶ πλέγμα κύρτου δημιουρ-
γοῦσα. καὶ ὅταν ἐξυφήνῃ τὸ «εἰρημένον, κομίζει
πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν, ἔνθα τοῦ κύματος ἐπιπολάζον-
τος ἡσυχῇ " τὸ dopa. ἐπιὸν ἐλέγχει τῇ ἁλκυόνι
TO ἔργον" τὸ γάρ τοι μὴ στεγανὸν μέρος τὸ ὕδωρ

προσυποθήγων.

᾿ τῶν ζῴων.

μέντοι.

ἐν τῷ.

mo (χρωμένη, ἀλλὰ τῷ στόματι» conj. Schn.
v.

ᾧ

ao ὧι ἢ (ὃ Pp

236

ON ANIMALS, IX. 16-17

eyes; and as it sharpens either eye by rubbing
fennel along the edges it rids itself of this affliction.
You see, after hibernating through the winter in
some dark hole, it is short-sighted. And so the
gentle warmth of the fennel cleanses the creature’s
vision which the frosts have numbed, and makes its
sight keener. |

17. When the Halcyon realises that it is pregnant The Halcyon
it builds itself a nest * to receive its brood; but it 224"

has no need of mud and a roof and houses, like the
swallow which entering as an uninvited guest saddens
the dawn with its twitter and even disturbs our
slumbers at their sweetest; nor yet (does it use> its
body <but its beak) alone as it applies itself to the
aforesaid task in places away from man, weaving
together and collecting the spines of the gar-fish,
and by some mysterious means it binds together and
encloses the fabric of its careful contriving. For
some of the bones it fixes upright, others cross-wise
(one would say that it was some woman skilled in
weaving that was interlacing the woof with the
warp), and makes the nest approximately round and
bellying in shape, as though it were plaiting a weel.
And when it has woven the aforesaid nest it takes it
down to the sea, and there, as the waves flow gently
in, the advancing surf puts the Halcyon’s labour to a
test. For the water encountering any part that is

4 Cp. Ar. HA 616 a 19-32 and Thompson’s notes.

7 ἂν αὐτήν.

8 καΐ τι καὶ κολπῶδες ὑπό
μηκες.

9 Reiske: εἶτα ἡσυχῆ.

237

AELIAN
TO ἐμπῖπτον 1 ἀκεῖ BO 1 δὲ ἡ
μπῖπτον .. .* ἀκεῦῖται αὖθις. τὰ δὲ ἡρμοο-

μένα 5 εἴγε παίοις λίθῳ, οὐκ ἂν διατρήσειας αὐτά.
εἰ δὲ καὶ διακόψαι σιδήρῳ ἐθέλοις, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ἂν
εἴξειε, καλῶς τε καὶ εὖ διυφασμένα, τοῦ θώρακος
τοῦ λινοῦ οὐ μεῖον, ὅνπερ οὖν ἀναθεῖναι τῇ ᾿Αθηνᾷ
τῇ Λινδίᾳ "Αμασιν ἄδουσι. τὸ στόμα δὲ τοῦ
κύρτου τοῦδε ἄλλῳ μὲν οὔτε ἐσβατὸν οὔτε πάνυ
τι : σύνοπτον, δέχεται δὲ ἐκείνην μόνην. οὐκ ἂν
δὲ ἐσρεύσειε δι᾿ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ τῆς θαλάττης ἔσω
οὐδὲ ἕν’ οὕτω τοι στεγανόν ἐστιν. ἐνταῦθά τοι
(xat>* τοὺς νεοττοὺς τρέφει κατὰ τῶν κυμάτων ἡ
ἀλκυὼν φερομένη, ὥς φασιν.

18. Tod Νείλου πλησίον πόα γίνεται, καὶ
καλεῖται λυκοκτόνος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι ψευδώνυμος,
[xa εἰκότως “2 ὅταν γὰρ αὐτῆς ἐπιβαίνῃ 5
λύκος, σπώμενος ἀποθνήσκει. ἔνθεν τοι. καὶ οἱ
᾿ σέβοντες Αἰγυπτίων τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον ἐς τὴν ἑαυτῶν
χώραν κωλύουσι ταύτην τὴν πόαν κομίζεσθαι.

~ 4X 4 > "» -

᾿ 19. Τῶν. κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν ὄρνις ἐὰν ἐς οἶνον

. 3 o > 4
ἐμπέσῃ καὶ ἀποπνιγῇ, οὐδὲν λυμαίνεται οὔτε τοῦ

3, ~~
οἴνου φασὶν οὔτε τῶν ἔνδον: ἐὰν δὲ ἐς ὕδωρ
“΄“- ~ 3 fd
κατενεχθῇ ὶ δυσῶδες ἀπέφηνε τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ κακοσ-
+ 7 4 ,
μίαν περὶ τὸν ἀέρα ἐργάζεται. γαλεώτης δὲ ἐὰν
ἐς οἶνον κατολισθὼν ἴ εἶτα ἀποπνιγῇ,3 λυπεῖ οὐδὲ
᾿ \ 939 wv 3 /

ἕν" ἐὰν δὲ ἐς ἔλαιον ἐμπέσῃ καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, δυσῶδες

1 Lacuna. .

2 Ά δ “ ~

J ae : ἡρμοσμένα ἐᾷ καλῶς συνυφασμένα καί.
ας ΝΣ πάντη.

4 <xat> add. H.

® [καὶ εἰκότως condemned by H.

§ Jae: em Bain.

238

πΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΣΩΣΩΣΩΝ ΧΩ ΣΩ Ta LETT RN RR LE ST PTT U TESA TSN SNOT (OLN bree ETE SN ETA EE RNA TTT I -

ON ANIMALS, IX. 17-19

not watertight “penetrates the nest, and the Halcyon
seeing this ?),* repairs it. But if you strike with a
stone the parts which have been closely fitted, you
will not pierce them. And if you try to cut them
with steel, so well and truly have they been inter-
woven that they will not yield, any more than that
linen corslet which they say Amasis® gave as an
offering to Athena of Lindus.° And the mouth of
this weel no other creature can enter or indeed
detect at all: it admits the Halcyon alone. But not
even a drop of sea water could trickle in, so watertight
is the nest. And there, they say, rocked on the
waves the Halcyon rears its young. -

18. By the Nile there grows ἃ herb, and it goes by The herb
the name of ‘ Wolf’s-bane,’ ἃ and it is truly named. “°**?*"°
For when a wolf treads upon it he dies in convulsions.

That, you see, is why those Egyptians who worship
this animal prevent this herb from being introduced
into their country.

19. If a bird of the household falls into a vessel of Dead bodies
wine and is drowned, they say that neither the wine 254 oil
nor any of the inmates of the house suffers any harm ;
whereas if it sinks in water, it causes the water to
smell, and diffuses a foul odour in the surrounding
air. But if a Gecko falls into wine and is drowned,
it does no harm. If however it falls into oil and dies,

¢ Lacuna; the translation is conjectural.

» King of Egypt, 6th cent. B.o. See Hdt. 2, 182.
¢ Town on the E coast of Rhodes.

4 Aconite.

7 κατολισθήσας. 8 ἀποπνιγῇ ἢ εἰς ὕδωρ.

239

AELIAN

. oo” > ἢ 1 ες 7 Bi ie oh
τὸ ἔλαιον ἀποφαίνει, Kal ὁ γευσάμενος αὐτοῦ

φθειρσὶν ἐξέζεσεν.

20. Τὸ τοῦ ἐλάφου κέρας θυμιώμενον ὅτι τοὺς
ὄφεις διώκει δῆλόν ἐστιν. λέγει δὲ ᾿Αριστοτέλης
ὅτι καὶ λίθος ὃ γινόμενος ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ ποταμῷ
(ἔστι δὲ οὗτος ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ Σιντικῇ 1 τε καὶ
Μαιδικῇ 5) ἐπιθυμιώμενος διώκει τοὺς αὐτούς,
καὶ μέντοι καὶ φύσιν τοῦ λίθου περιηγεῖται τοιάνδε.
ὕδατος μὲν εἴ τις αὐτοῦ 8 καταχέοι, ἐξάπτεται:"
καόμενον δὲ ὑπερεξάψαι ῥιπίδι εἰ θελήσειας, 6 δὲ
κατασβέννυται. θυμιώμενον δὲ αὐτὸν ὀσμὴν ἀφιέ-
ναι ἀσφάλτου βαρυτέραν φασί. τούτοις ὁμολογεῖ
καὶ Νίκανδρος.

21. “H Φάρος ἡ νῆσος πάλαι (λέγουσι δὲ Αἰγύπ-
τιον οἷα μέλλω λέγειν) ἐπεπλήρωτο ὄφεων
πολλῶν τε καὶ διαφόρων. ἐπεὶ δὲ Θῶνις 6 τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεὺς λαβὼν παρακαταθήκην τὴν
Διὸς ᾿Ελένην (ἔδωκε δὲ αὐτὴν ἄρα καὶ περὶ τὴν
ἄνω ὃ Αἴγυπτον καὶ περὶ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν πλανώμε-

¢€ ὔ > 3 7 + κ“" ξ “-
νος ὁ Μενέλεως) εἶτα ἠράσθη αὐτῆς 6 Θῶνις,
βίαν 1 αὐτοῦ προσφέροντος τῇ “Ἑλένῃ ἐς ὁμιλίαν
> bu ᾽ ξ λ i 8 \ ~ 9 Δ \ > 4 10
ἀφροδίσιόν φησιν ὁ λόγος ὃ τὴν τοῦϑ Διὸς αὐτὰ
εἰπεῖν ἕκαστα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θώνιδος γαμετήν (Πο-
λύδαμνα ἐκαλεῖτο), τὴν δὲ δείσασαν μή ποτε ἄρα
¢ LA: ¢ ,ὔ ~ LAA > 4 11 ¢ θ 7 θ
ὑπερβάληται ἡ ξένη τῷ κάλλει αὐτήν,͵3 ὑπεκθέσθαι

4 ¢ ᾽ 2 , / \ ΄“- 3 ~
τὴν “Ἑλένην ἐς Φάρον, πόαν δὲ τῶν ὄφεων τῶν

1 Gron: Ἰνδικῇ. 2. Schn: Παιονικῇ.
αὐτῷ. 4 θελήσεις.

πεπλήρωτο.
§ Rewke: ἄνω καὶ περὶ τὴν Αἴ,

5

240

ON ANIMALS, IX. 19-21

it makes the oil smell nasty, and on anyone who
tastes it lice at once break out.

20. It is clear that the burning of a Stag’s horn The οι
expels snakes. And Aristotle asserts [Mzr. 481 a 27] stone’
that the stone ὦ which occurs in the river Pontus
(it is in the territory of the Sinti and Maedi) ὃ if
burnt also chases away snakes. Moreover he de-
scribes the nature of the stone as follows. Ifyou pour
some water upon it, it lights; and if when burning
you hope to kindle it into a bigger blaze by fanning
it, it goes out. They say that as it burns it gives
off a smell more oppressive than bitumen. And
Nicander [ Ther. 45] agrees with this.

21. The island of Pharos (what I am about to tell 7 of
: ἃ Α roy and

you is reported by the Egyptians) was once infested Snakes in
with a great variety of snakes. But when Thonis ¥h4r0s
the Egyptian King took under his charge Helen the
daughter of Zeus (because Menelaus entrusted her
to him while he was wandering through Upper
Egypt and Ethiopia), he fell in love with her, and
when he attempted to force her to lie with him, the
story goes that the daughter of Zeus repeated the
whole tale to the wife of Thonis (Polydamna was her
name), and she on her side, anxious lest this alien
should prove more beautiful than she, removed Helen
to the safety of Pharos and gave her a herb disliked

@ The ‘ Thracian stone,’ Θράκιος λίθος, is perhaps quicklime.

> It is the river Strymon which flows through that part of
Paeonia inhabited by the 8. and M.

?
7 καὶ βίαν. 8 λόγος δείσασαν.
® χοῦ del. H. 10 γαῦτα.
Ἀ > ?
11 αὐτὴν ἄμα TE καὶ οἰκτείρασαν.

241

AELIAN

ἐκεῖθι ἐχθρὰν δοῦναι, ἧσπερ οὖν αἴσθησιν λαβόντας
τοὺς ὄφεις εἶτα καταδῦναι. τὴν δὲ αὐτὴν κατα-
φυτεῦσαι, καὶ χρόνῳ ἀναθῆλαι καὶ ἀφεῖναι 1
σπέρμα ἐχθρὸν ὄφεσι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἐν τῇ Φάρῳ
θηρίον τοιόνδε οὐκέτι 5 γενέσθαι. κληθῆναι δὲ τὴν
πόαν ἑλένιον λέγουσιν οἱ ταῦτα εἰδέναι δεινοί.

22. Θαλάττιον EGov οἱ ἀστέρες, καὶ εἰσὶ καὶ
οὗτοι μαλακόστρακοι, ἐχθροὶ δὲ τοῖς ὀστρέοις"
δειπνοῦσι γὰρ αὐτά. καὶ ὁ τρόπος τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς
τῆς κατ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐκεῖνός ἐστι. τὰ μὲν κέχηνε πολ-
λάκις ψύχους δεόμενα καὶ ἄλλως εἴ τί σφισιν
ἐμπέσοι τούτῳ τραφησόμενα: οἱ τοίνυν ἀστέρες
μέσον τῶν ὀστράκων διείρουσιν ἕν κῶλον τῶν
σφετέρων ἕκαστος, καὶ ἐμπίπλανται τῶν σαρκῶν,
διειργομένων συνελθεῖν τῶν ὀστράκων αὖθις.
ἴδιον μὲν δὴ καὶ ἀστέρων θαλαττίων εἰρήσθω
ἡμῖν τοῦτο. ᾿

23. Τὴν μὲν ὕδραν τὴν Λερναίαν τὸν ἄθλον τὸν
“Ἡράκλειον ἀδέτωσαν ποιηταὶ καὶ μύθων ἀρχαίων
συνθέται, ὧνπερ οὖν καὶ ‘Exaratos 6 λογοποιός
> 2a 7 Ά λν ᾽ 7
ἐστιν. ἀδέτω δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος Χιμαίρας φύσιν

: - »- 7
κεφαλὰς ἐχούσης τρεῖς, τέρας τοῦτο Λύκιον
ΤΑ Ξ ὃ 4 ΄- ,ὔ λ LA >. 4 λ 4 4

μισωδάρου τοῦ Λυκίων βασιλέως, ἐπὶ λύμῃ
πολλῶν θρέμμα ποικίλον τε καὶ ἀπρόσμαχον, ναὶ
μὰ Δία. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔοικεν ἐς τοὺς μύθους
ἀποκεκρίσθαι: ἡ δὲ ἀμφίσβαινα ὄφις δικέφαλός
ἐστι, καὶ τὰ ἄνω καὶ ὅσα ἐς τὸ οὐραῖον" προϊοῦσα
δέ, ὅπως ἂν ἐς τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπαγάγῃ τῆς προόδου
2

1 ἀφιέναι. ov.

242

ON ANIMALS, IX. 21-23

by the snakes there; so as soon as they were aware
of this, the snakes went underground. But Helen
planted the herb and in time it flourished and
produced seed disagreeable to the snakes, and in
Pharos such creatures have never recurred. Ex-
perts in these matters say that this herb is called

Helenion.®

22. Starfishes are marine creatures, and they too The Starfish
have a soft shell, but are the enemies of oysters, for #4 O7s#™
‘they feed on them. And their method of assailing

the oysters is as follows. The latter frequently
open for coolness’ sake and anyhow in order to feed
themselves on whatever comes their way. Accord-
ingly the Starfishes insert one of their limbs between
the shells and take their fill of the flesh, the oysters
being precluded from closing again. So much then
for this characteristic of Starfishes.

23. Poets and the compilers of ancient legends, te amphis
among whom is Hecataeus the chronicler, may sing 524

of the Hydra of Lerna, one of the Labours of
Heracles; and Homer may sing of the Chimaera
with its three heads [J/. 6.181; 16.328], the monster
of Lycia kept by Amisodarus the Lycian king for
the destruction of many, of varied nature, and
absolutely invincible. Now these seem to have been
relegated to the region of myths. The Amphis-
baena however is a snake with two heads, one at the
top and one in the direction of the tail. When it
advances, as need for a forward movement impels

4 Elecampane, Inula helenium; cp. Diosc. 1. 29.

3
3 εἰς ἕκαστον. 4 λύπῃ.

243

ABELIAN

ἡ χρεία αὐτήν, τὴν μὲν ἀπέλιπεν οὐρὰν εἶναι, τὴν
δὲ ἀπέφηνε κεφαλήν. καὶ μέντοι καὶ πάλιν εἰ
δεηθείη τὴν ὀπίσω ἰέναι, κέχρηται ταῖς κεφαλαῖς
ἐς τὸ ἐναντίον ἢ τὸ πρόσθεν ἐχρήσατο.

᾽ A a
94, Ἢν δὲ ἄρα τι βατράχου γένος, καὶ καλεῖται
τοῦτο ἁλιεύς, καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα ἐξ ὧν Opa.
Seve 2 αὶ 9 ¢ ,ὕ - a ADo NG y ”
eAdara ἐκεῖνος 3 ὑπεράνω τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν exer
προμήκεις ὃ ὡς ἂν εἴποις τινὰς βλεφαρίδας, εἶτα
ε 7 ἃ f 7 7}
ἑκάστῃ βραχὺ σφαιρίον προσπέφυκε. σύνοιδεν
οὖν ἑαυτῷ τούτοις ἐφολκοῖς ὅ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἐς
τοὺς ἄλλους ἰχθῦς παρεσκευασμένῳ τε καὶ τεθηγ-
μένῳ προσέτι. οὐκοῦν ὑποκρύψας ἑαυτὸν ἐν τοῖς
, \ 3Ὰ 7 “ὌΝ f
θολερωτέροις τε καὶ ἰλύος μᾶλλον πεπληρωμένοις
ἡσυχάζει, προτείνων τὰς τρίχας τὰς προειρημένας.
τὰ τοίνυν βράχιστα τῶν ἰχθύων προσνεῖ ταῖσδε
-. / X > > v n
ταῖς βλεφαρίσι, τὰς em ἄκρου σφαιροειδεῖς
‘ >? / S ¢ \ 3 “~ δὲ
περιφορὰς οἰόμενα δέλεαρ εἶναι, ὁ δὲ ἐλλοχῶν ἀτρε-
μεῖ, πλησίον δὲ ἐκείνων γεγενημένων, ὑπάγει τὰς
/ c- : “-
τρίχας ἐς ἑαυτόν (at δὲ ἐσάγονται κρυπταῖς τισιν ©
ὁδοῖς καὶ ἀφανέσι), γειτνιάσαντά τε ὑπὸ λαιμαργίας
τὰ ἰχθύδια δεῖπνόν ἐστι {τῷ βατράχῳ τῷ
xX Ν t ρ Xx t t
προειρημένῳ.

25. Κάραβος πολύποδι ἐχθρός. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον,
ὅταν αὐτῷ τὰς πλεκτάνας περιβάλῃ, τῶν μὲν ἐπὶ

“-- / > ~ “
τοῦ νώτου ἐκπεφυκότων 8 αὐτῷ κέντρων moretrar

/ , ΄΄' “
οὐδεμίαν dpav, ἑαυτὸν δὲ περιχέας αὐτῷ ἐς πνῖγμα
ἄγχει. ταῦτα ὃ κάραβος σαφῶς οἶδε, καὶ ἀποδι-

1 κέκτηται Reiske. 2 Ges: ἐκεῖνα.

3 προμήκεις τρίχας. 4 Jac: τραχύ.
5 ἐφοδίοις τὴν τροφήν. ὃ Schn: τισι ταῖς.

244

ON ANIMALS, IX. 23-25

it, it leaves one end behind to serve as tail, while the
other it uses as a head. Then again if it wants to
move backwards, it uses the two heads in exactly
the opposite manner from what it did before.*

94, There is, it seems, a species of frog which 1 Fishing-
bears the name of ‘ Angler,’ and is so called from
what it does. It possesses baits above its eyes: one
might describe them as elongated eyelashes, and at
the end of each one is attached a small sphere. The
fish is aware that nature has equipped it and even
stimulated it to attract other fish by these means.
Accordingly it hides itself in spots where the mud is
thicker and the slime deeper, and extends the afore-
said hairs without moving. Now the tiniest fishes
swim up to these eyelashes, imagining that the
round, swinging objects at the end are edible; mean-
while the Angler lies in wait, never stirring, and
when the little fishes are near to him, he withdraws
the hairs towards himself (they are drawn in by some
secret and invisible means), and the little fishes,
whose gluttony has brought them close up, provide
a meal for the aforesaid frog.

95. The Crayfish is the enemy of the Octopus. Grayfish and
The reason is this: when the Octopus throws its
tentacles round it, it cares nothing for the spines
that spring from the back of the Crayfish, but wraps
stself round and throttles it till it suffocates. This

@ See Gow-Scholfield on Nic. Th. 372.
eee

7 <r@> add. A.

8 Ges: εἰσπεφυκότων MSS.

245

AELIAN

7 3 f ἤ
δράσκει αὕτον. καράβου δὲ ἡ φύσις ἐκείνη ἐστίν

Lid 3 4
3 7
se adens ἢ, πορεύεται ὃδε 6 ἰχθὺς πρόσω
“~ \ 3 a
πλαγιάσας δεῦρο καὶ ἐκεῖσε τὰ κέρατα, ἵνα μὴ
7 ~
gue ἐναντίαν τὴν νῆξιν τὸ ὕδωρ ἰὸν εἶτα ἄνα
13 ᾿
τ Vy] οἱ τὰ κέρατα καὶ ἐμποδίζῃ 5 πρόσω χωρεῖν.
'
εἰ : φεύγοι, τὴν ὀπίσω ἰὼν παρῆκεν αὐτὰ τελέως
τὸ 7 > 3
ε ὲ Abe) ὡς κώπαις. ἐρέττων καὶ ὑποκινῶν
3
ἱκὴν πορί μίδος πολὺ ἀποσπᾷ. εἰ δὲ γέν
μάχη καράβων πρὸς ἀλλήλους, τὰ κέ ae.
pos ἀλλήλους, ta κέρατα ἐγεί
ροντες εἶτα ὡς κριοὶ ἐμπί ἢ
ca | Kplot ἐμπίπτοντες προσαράττουσι
ὰ μέτωπα. ἀγῶνα δὲ pupaivns καὶ καράβου
ἀνωτέρω εἶπον.

9 7 \ ~

26. , Ἐλαύνει δὲ ἰσχυρῶς 3 τοὺς ὄφεις ἡ ἔνδροσό
τε καὶ νοτερὰ καλαμίνθ sical ὁ eyes ae
τε ρ αμίνθη φασὶ καὶ ὃ ἄγνος. τοῦ
τὸν τοι καὶ ἐν We lous. ἐν ταῖ ieee
᾿ ἂ εσμοφορίοις ἐν ταῖς στιβάσι τὰ
y oe ATTiKA ὑποστόρνυται. καὶ δοκεῖ μὲν
καὶ ἐχῦρος εἶναι τοῖς δακετοῖς 6 ἄγνος, ἤδη δὲ καὶ

; :

ὁρμῆς ἀφροδισίου κώλυμά ἐστι, καὶ ἔοικε τό γε
ee λαβεῖν ἐντεῦθεν. δέδοικε δὲ ἄρα τὲ αὐτὰ
α ͵

κετὰ καὶ τὴν καλουμένην λιβανωτίδα πόαν

OF. ἤ i ”
: Θεοφράστου δὲ ἔγωγε ἀκούω καὶ ἐκεῖν
πόαν τινὰ ἱστορεῖ ὅδε ὃ ἀνή Lo
eee Op € ὁ ἀνήρ, καὶ ὄνομα Onduddvov
Λε αὐτὴν, ἥνπερ οὖν εἴ τις σκορπίῳ κατὰ νώ
θεὶς ἐάσειεν, 6 δὲ ἢ ἦός ἐ "ὃ δὲ
εἰς ἐάσειεν, παραχρῆμα aves ἐστιν. ὁ δὲ
αὐτὸς λέγει τὸν αὐτὸν & Ἵ ' ;
ὃ λέ Ὃν avrov ἀναστήσεσθαι, εἴπερ οὖν
εὐκοῦ ἐλλεβόρου Kx Ἵ ἡτοῦ. ἐ
αταπάσειας αὐτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ

1 ἡ φύσις: νήξει.

2 ἀναστέλλ ; Ἵ
"Ἐ eAdnrar . . . ἐμποδίζηται.
ἰσχυρῶς τῇ φυγῇ.
f
πόαν λιβανωτίδα. 5 ἐάσαι or ἐάσει.

246

i
i
Ϊ
Ϊ

͵
|

ON ANIMALS, IX. 25-27

the Crayfish knows full well, and makes its escape.

~The nature of the Crayfish is as follows. When it

has nothing to fear, this fish moves in a forward
direction, turning its feelers¢ to either side, in
order that the water encountering it as it swims may
not thrust them back and hinder its advance. But
if it is trying to escape, it goes backwards, relaxing
its feelers completely, in order that, like one rowing
with oars and moving lightly like a boat, it may
withdraw to a great distance. If Crayfish fight
with one another they raise their feelers, fall upon
each other like rams, and butt their foreheads
together. But a struggle between a moray and a
Crayfish I have described earlier on?

_ 96. They say that the dewy Water-mint and the Snakes and
Agnus-castus are a potent means of expelling snakes. eens
The latter, you know, is strewn by the women of

Attica on their pallets at the Thesmophoria. And it

appears that the Agnus-castus 15 offensive to noxious
creatures, and at the same time represses sexual
appetite; from this fact it appears to derive its

name. And the same noxious creatures have a

dread of the herb known as rosemary frankincense.

97. From Theophrastus [HP 9. 18. 2] I learn the The Aconite
following. This great man mentions a certain herb
and calls it by the name of ‘ Female-killer’ ° and
if one puts it on a scorpion’s back and lets it lie, the
creature immediately shrivels. But the same writer
says that it revives if you sprinkle some white

@ Lit. ‘ horns.’
> See 1. 32.
¢ One of several names for aconite; see Nic. Al. 36 ff.

247

AELIAN

ἐπαινῶ μὲν τὸ θηλυφόνον, τὸν δὲ λευκὸν ἐλλέβορον
ἥκιστα. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, μισῶ μὲν σκορπίους, φιλῶ
δὲ ἀνθρώπους. Καλλίμαχος δὲ ἄρα ἐν τῇ. γῇ τῇ
Τραχινίᾳ ἄδει δένδρον τι φύεσθαι καὶ καλεῖσθαι

Ὄ

“- 4
σμῖλον, ᾧ τὰ ἑρπετὰ γειτνιάσαντα καὶ παραψαύ-

t

> ‘ > > 7
σαντα ἀρχὴν εἶτα ἀποθνήσκει.

28. Τὴν ὗν κρέα ἔχειν τῶν ἄλλων κρεῶν ἡδίω
ex πολλοῦ πεπίστευται. καὶ ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἡ πεῖρα
διδάσκει 1 καὶ μάλα γε ἐναργῶς.3 ὅταν ποτὲ

7 7 4 f 3 > 7 ὔ
σαλαμάνδραν φάγῃ, αὐτὴ μέν ἐστιν ἀπαθής, τούς
γε μὴν αὐτῆς γευσαμένους ἀποκτείνει.

/ εν

29. Kdd¢parns, ὅσπερ οὖν Πάρθων καὶ Σύρων
ξ.- , ἢ 3 iva A 4 \ @ ~ y+ v
pet μέσος," ὁ τι μὲν ὦ καὶ ἕτερον τῶν ἄλλων ἔχει
ποταμῶν περιττὸν ἐρῶ ἄλλοτε, ὃ δὲ αὐτῷ συνίσασι
Πάρθοι τε καὶ Σύροι καὶ ἔστι συμμελὲς τοῖς
λόγοις τοῖσδε, τοῦτο εἰρήσεται. πρὸς ταῖς πρώ-
Tats ἀνατολαῖς τοῦδε τοῦ ποταμοῦ φύονταί τινες
Cd ‘ f > ? 2. 3 >: >
ὄφεις, καὶ μάλα ye ἀνθρώπων ἐχθροί, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ
τῶν ἐπιχωρίων καὶ συντρόφων, τῶν δὲ ξένων καὶ
προσηκόντων οὐδὲ ἕν. καὶ τιμῶνταί γε τὴν
ἐπιδημίαν θανάτου αὐτοῖς.

90, Λέων ὅταν βαδίζῃ, οὐκ εὐθύωρον πρόεισιν,
IQA FA ἴω 3 - ς m ¢ “" > \ 3 7
οὐδὲ ἐᾷ τῶν ἰχνῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἁπλᾶ εἶναι τὰ ἰνδάλματα,
ἀλλὰ πῆ μὲν πρόεισι, πῇ δὲ ἐπάνεισι, καὶ αὖ
7 a“ .
πάλιν τοῦ πρόσω ἔχεται, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἵεται
(ἐς > τοὔμπαλιν. εἶτα προφορεῖται τὴν ὅδόν, καὶ

1 Schn: διδάξει. 2 ἐναργής.
3 μέσος ποταμός. 4 μέν τοι.

248

ON ANIMALS, IX. 27-30

᾿ hellebore upon it. Now I am in favour of Female-
killer, but not at all of white hellebore. The reason

is that I detest scorpions but love mankind. Calli-
machus [ fr. 100 f. 48 P] relates how a tree that goes
by the name of yew grows in Trachis, and if creeping
things go near and touch it at all they die.

98. It is generally believed that the flesh of the es
Pig is sweeter than all others. And the fact is quite
clearly proved by experiment. Whenever it eats a
salamander, the Pig itself is unaffected, but kills

those who taste its flesh.

29. In what respect the Euphrates, which flows snakes at
between Parthia and Syria, is superior to other the source οἱ
rivers I will explain some other time; but what the phrates
Parthians and Syrians know about it, and what is
relevant to the present discourse, that I will now tell.

Near to the spot where the river first rises certain
Snakes breed which are deadly enemies to men, not
however to the natives who have been brought up
in their midst, but to strangers who have no con-
nexion whatever with them. And they even punish

visitors with death.

30. The Lion when walking does not move straight The Lion's
forward, nor does he allow his footprints to appear
plain and simple, but at one point he moves forward,
at another he goes back, then he holds on his course,
and then again starts in the opposite direction.
Next he goes to and fro, effacing his tracks so as to

δ ¢és) add. H.

249

AELIAN

> / 1 “ ᾿
- 7
ἀφανίζ ει 1 τοῖς θηραταῖς ἰέναι κατὰ στίβον τὸν
\ , 2
εαυτοῦ καὶ ῥᾳδίως τὴν κοίτην ἔνθα ἀναπαύεται καὶ
οἰκεῖ σὺν τοῖς σκύ Spi ἱ ταῦ
μνοις εὑρίσκειν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν

7 : 2
λεόντων ἐστὶν ἴδια δῶρα φύσεως 3

f
51. Ποιμένα μοι νόει νομευτικὴν 8 ἀγαθόν
n \ A °
οὐκοῦν 6 νομεὺς φιλεῖ μεν τὰς οἷς, φιλεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰς
pha μισεῖ δὲ λύγγα. νόσημα {δὲν 4 χοῦτο
5 “
ἀνθρώπῳ πολλάκις ἐμπῖπτον, ἄγει δὲ ἡ πλησμονὴ
- ? 3 ~
καὶ ὙΠ τὴν λύγγα. οὐκοῦν πόαν τινὰ ἐχθρὰν
τῷ πάθει τῷδε Tols τῶν προειρημένων σηκοῖς οἱ
νομεῖς παραφυτεύουσι, καὶ ἥδε ἡ πόα ἀνείργει τὸ
κακὸν αὐταῖς.5 λέ δὲ οἱ f
Senet ἐγουσι O€ οἱ πεπειραμένοι ὅτι
‘Kal ἂν ITO πάθος ἐ
ype καὶ avlpwrots ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ πάθος ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν
ἢ πόα αὕτη.

¢ 7 4
2. Τοσκύαμον καὶ ὀπὸν ὅσοις ἔργον τρυγᾶν
Ν 3
οὗτοι περισκάπτουσι μὲν γύρους καὶ ὑποκινοῦσι
τὰς ρίζας, οὐ μὴν διὰ χειρῶν τῶν σφετέρων
ἀνασπῶσιν,, ἀλλὰ τῶ boy Vv ὃ :
ἕω ἊΣ a τῶν ζῴων πτῆνον ὃ τι οὖν
Ἴροτο τες 7 πριάμενοι τοῖν ποδοῖν τὸν ἕτερον
σι A

προσεόησαν τῇ πόᾳ. TO δὲ ἰλυσπώμενον εἶτα
μέντοι ἀνασπᾷ αὐτή L ἔ
ἀρ @ αὐτὴν. καὶ ἔστι λυσιτελῆ ἑκάτερα
ἐς ἃ ὁέονται ἄνθρωποι. εἰ δὲ μὴ ταύ
ἀνασπάσειεν,8 ἔχει ἄλλως ὅ δ cir pee

air aie EXEL aAAws ὅπερ οὖν οἴεται καλῶς
Kat ἐς deov " θησαύρισμα εἰληφέναι...

3 f
ἀφανίζει corrupt.
᾿ς Ν »-
φύσεως ἄνωθεν αὐτοῖς δοθέντα; cp. 12. 82 fin.:
Schn : νομευτικόν.
«(δέ add. Η.
τοῖσδε.
αὐτοῖς.
ue “
ἔτι ἀνασπῶσιν.

“ΑΟ Fm oO MD μὲ

250

ON ANIMALS, IX. 30-32

“prevent ὁ hunters from following his path and easily
“discovering the lair where he takes his rest and lives

2

_. with his cubs. These habits of the Lion are Nature’s
special gifts.
31. Consider what makes a good shepherd. Now Hiccups ana

‘the herdsman loves both his sheep and his goats, but Ms cure
he abhors the hiccups. This affliction often befalls

man, and a surfeit induces hiccups in sheep and goats
also. Accordingly herdsmen plant round the pens

of the aforesaid animals a certain herb which counters

this complaint, and the herb protects them against
it. And those who have had experience maintain
that this herb is beneficial to man also in the same

affliction.®

32. Those whose business it is to gather Henbane Henbane,
-and the juice of Silphium ¢ dig trenches round the gathered

plants and stir the roots a little; they do not how-
ever pull them up with their hands, but capture or
buy some bird and fasten one leg to the herb. And
as the bird flutters it pulls up the herb. Both are
serviceable to man’s needs. But if a man has not:
these means to pull them up, then the treasure
which he fancies he has found so happily and in

answer to his neéds is of no service.

@ The sense is clear, but the text is faulty.

ὃ The herb (whose name A. does not disclose) is Alyssum or
madwort; cp. Plut. Mor. 2. 6484.

¢ *Oqds, the common term for juice of silphium, cannot be
right here, unless Ael. attaches some other meaning to the

word.

8 dvagrracel. 9 Kiihn : εἰλέον.
257

AELIAN

88. Τὸ ἁβρότονον ὅσα ἀγαθὰ δρᾷ καὶ ὅπως
ὁδοὺς πνεύματι δίδωσι καὶ μέντοι καὶ πνεύμονός
ἐστι καθαρτήριον οὐ νῦν λέγειν καιρός" ζῴῳ
(ὃ » οὖν πονηρῷ πολέμιόν ἐστι, καὶ ἀναιρεῖ τὴν
ἕλμινθα, ἥπερ οὖν ἐπὶ πλέον ἰοῦσα ὃ θηρίον
γίνεται σπλάγχνοις μὲν ἐντικτόμενον, ἀνθρωπείαις
δὲ νόσοις ἐναριθμούμενον, καὶ ταῦτα ταῖς. ἄγαν
ἀνιάτοις τε καὶ ὑπὸ χειρὸς θνητῆς 8 ἐς ἄκεσιν
ἥκειν ἀδυνάτοις. τεκμηριῶσαι τοῦτο Kat Ἵππυς
ἱκανὸς. ὃ δὲ λέγει 6 συγγραφεὺς 6 “Ρηγῖ

-.ψ-. +f 3 ᾿: Ss bu TYPOS
τοιοῦτόν ἐστι. γυνὴ εἶχεν ἕλμινθα, καὶ ἰάσασθαι
αὐτὴν ἀπεῖπον οἱ τῶν ἰατρῶν δεινοί. οὐκοῦν ἐς
Ἐπίδαυρον ἦλθε, καὶ ἐδεῖτο τοῦ θεοῦ 3 ἐξάντης
γενέσθαι τοῦ “συνοίκου πάθους. οὐ παρῆν 6 θεός:
οἱ μέντοι ζάκοροι κατακλίνουσι τὴν ἄνθρωπον
ἔνθα ἰᾶσθαι ὁ θεὸς εἰώθει τοὺς δεομένους. καὶ ἡ
μὲν ἄνθρωπος ἡσύχαζε προσταχθεῖσα, οἵ γε μὴν
ὑποδρῶντες τῷ θεῷ τὰ ἐς τὴν ἴασιν αὐτῆς 5
ἐποίουν, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς δέρης
ἀφαιροῦσι, καθίησι δὲ τὴν χεῖρα ὁ ἕτερος, καὶ
ἐξαιρεῖ τὴν ἕλμινθα, θηρίου μέγα τι χρῆμα.
συναρμόσαι δὲ καὶ ἀποδοῦναι τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐς τὴν
ἀρχαίαν ἁρμονίαν οὐκ ἐδύναντο οὐκέτι. ὃ τοίνυν
θεὸς ἀφικνεῖται, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐχαλέπηνεν ὅτι ἄρα
ἐπέθεντο ἔργῳ δυνατωτέρῳ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σοφίας"
αὐτὸς δὲ ἀμάχῳ τινὶ καὶ θείᾳ δυνάμει ἀπέδωκε
τῷ σκήνει τὴν κεφαλήν, καὶ τὴν ξένην ἀνέστησε.
καὶ οὔ τι που, ὦ βασιλεῦ καὶ θεῶν φιλανθρω-
πότατε ᾿Ασκληπιέ, ἀβρότονον ἔγωγε ἀντικρίνω

᾿ «δ᾽ add. H :
ὁ Gee Bones οὐ bond
: μέναις.

252

ON ANIMALS, IX. 33

destroys intestinal worm. This creature grows and.
grows and becomes a monster bred in the intestines,
and is reckoned among the diseases of mankind, and
what is more, among those which are hardest to cure
and which will not yield to any mortal treatment.
Hippys is sufficient witness to this. The account
given by the historian of Rhegium is as follows. A
woman suffered from an intestinal worm, and the
cleverest doctors despaired of curing her. Accord-
ingly she went to Epidaurus and prayed the god ὦ
that she might be rid of the complaint that was
lodged in her. The god was not at hand. The
attendants of the temple however made her lie down
in the place where the god was in the habit of healing
his petitioners. And the woman lay quiet as she
was bid; and the ministers of the god addressed
themselves to her cure: they severed her head from
the neck, and one of them inserted his hand and
drew out the worm, which was a monstrous creature,
But to adjust the head and to restore it to its former
setting, this they always failed to do. Well, the god
arrived and was enraged with the ministers for
undertaking a task beyond their skill, and himself
with the irresistible power of a god restored the head
to the body and raised the stranger up again. For
my part, O King Asclepius, of all gods the kindliest

α There was a famous temple of Asclepius 5 mi. W of
Epidaurus in Argolis. 7

4 γῶν θεῶν. 5 αὐτῇ. 8 πω.

253

_ 883, This is not the occasion for mentioning all the Intestinal
benefits that accrue from Wormwood, how it eases en
the windpipe and even cleanses the lungs. But toa

troublesome creature it is certainly an enemy: it

AELIAN

“- , “ ~ A / 3 “-
τῇ σοφίᾳ τῇ σῇ: μὴ μανείην ἐς τοσοῦτον" ἀλλὰ
ἐπελθὼν ἐμνήσθην εὐεργεσίας τε σῆς καὶ ἰάσεως
- φ
ἐκπληκτικῆς. ὡς δὲ καὶ ἥδε ἢ πόα σὸν δῶρόν

ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἀμφιβάλλειν χρή.

94. ‘O δὲ ναυτίλος πολύπους * ἐστὶ καὶ αὐτός,
καὶ κόγχην μίαν ἔχει. ἀναπλεῖ μὲν οὖν 8 τὴν
κόγχην στρέψας περὶ τὰ κάτω, ἵνα μὴ τῆς ἅλμης
ἀρύσηται καὶ ὠθήσῃ αὖθις αὑτόν" γενόμενος δὲ
ἐπὶ τοῖς κύμασιν, ὅταν μὲν ἢ γαλήνη καὶ εἰρήνη
πνευμάτων, στρέφει τὴν κόγχην ὑπτίαν (ἡ δὲ
ἐπιπλεῖ δίκην πορθμίδος) καὶ παρεὶς δύο πλεκ-
τάνας ἐντεῦθέν τε καὶ ἐκεῖθεν καὶ ὑποκινῶν ἡσυχῆ
ἐρέττει τε καὶ προωθεῖ τὴν συμφυῆ ναῦν. εἰ δὲ
εἴη πνεῦμα, τοὺς ἐρετμοὺς μὲν τοὺς τέως προτείνας
μακροτέρους οἴακας ἐργάζεται, ἄλλας δὲ ἀνατείνας
πλεκτάνας, ὧν μέσος χιτών ἐστι λεπτότατος,
τοῦτον διαστήσας ἱστίον αὐτὸν ἀποφαίνει. πλεῖ
μὲν δὴ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἀδεὴς ὦν: ἐὰν μέντοι
φοβηθῇ τι τῶν ἁδροτέρων, βυθίσας τὴν κόγχην
ἐπλήρωσε, καὶ κατώλισθεν ἐκ τοῦ βάρους, καὶ
ἑαυτὸν ἀφανίσας τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἀπέδρα. εἶτα ἐν
εἰρήνῃ γενόμενος ἀνέθορε τε καὶ πλεῖ πάλιν. καὶ
ἐκ τούτων ἔχει τὸ ὄνομα.

35. Es τριακοσίας. ὀργυιάς φασιν ἀνθρώποις
κάτοπτα εἶναι τὰ ἐν τῇ θα ATTY, περαιτέρω γε μὴν
οὐκέτι. εἴτε δὲ ὑπονέουσιν ἰχθύες ἔτι εἴτε καὶ
θηρία, ἢ εἰ καὶ τούτοις μὲν ἄβατά ἐστι, θεοὶ δὲ

1 ἐπελθών V, ἐπελθόν other mss, ἢ.

4 a
2 πολύπους μέν. 3 οὖν ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης.

® Poseidon.

254

ἘΣ nae

ON ANIMALS, IX. 33-35

to man, I do not set Wormwood against your skill
(heaven forbid I should be so insensate!), but in
considering Wormwood I was reminded of your
peneficent action and of your astounding powers of
healing. And there is no need to doubt that this

herb also is a gift from you.

34. The Argonaut also is one of the polyps and The

has one shell. Now it rises to the surface by turning
its shell upside down to prevent it from taking in salt
water and being thrust down again. And when it is
on top of the waves, if the weather is calm and the
winds are at rest, it turns its shell (which floats like a
boat). on its back, and letting down two tentacles,
one on either side, with a gentle motion rows and

yopels its natural vessel. And if there is a wind it
extends still further what up till now were oars,
using them as rudders, and raises other tentacles
between which there is a web of most delicate
texture, and this it spreads and turns into a sail.
And in this way it navigates so long as it has nothing
to fear. If however it is afraid of some of the larger
and stronger fish, it submerges and fills its shell and
sinks with the weight of water, and by disappearing
escapes from its enemy. Then when it has peace
again it rises and resumes its sailing. It 18 from
these activities that it derives its name.

Argonaut

35. They say that men have explored the sea to The depth

a depth of 300 fathoms, but not as yet beyond that.
Whether there are fishes and animals swimming at
an even greater depth, or whether even to them
these regions are inaccessible, although the gods of
the sea and also the overlord of the moist world 4

of the sea

255.

AELIAN

ON ANIMALS, IX. 35-37

nave their allotted dwelling there—these are matters

into which I shall not enquire too closely, and no one
else informs us.

/ , 2 7 f 5Ὰ 72 A -Ἀ
θαλάττιοι καὶ ἐνάλιοι δαίμονες εἰλήχασι τὸν χῶρον
καὶ μέντοι καὶ 6 τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας δεσπότης, οὔτε
ἐγὼ πολυπραγμονῶ οὔτε ἄλλος λέγει.

46. There is, it seems, a fish of the species mullet The

donis’*

836. Ἣν δὲ doa πέτραις ἠθὰς καὶ ἐν ταῦύτι ;
Ρ Ὡς aa which is accustomed to live and to feed among rocks, sch

‘4 A / 3 , \ 3 “ ?
νεμόμενος γένος κεστρέως ἰχθύς, Kal ἰδεῖν ξανθός
ἐστι. διαρρεῖ δὲ ἄρα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ διπλοῦν ὄνομα 1:

€ “~ ξ

οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄδωνιν καλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ ἐξώκοιτον .3

Ὁ , ,ὔὕ “. ΄“ ;

ὅταν γάρ τοι τὸ κῦμα ἐν τοῖς ὑπευδίοις καὶ

γαληνοῖς πραὔνθῇ, τηνικαῦτα ἑαυτὸν ἐξοκέλλει,
~~ / “ἈΝ “᾿ ~

τοῦ κύματος ἐποχούμενος TH ὁρμῇ, Kal κατὰ τῶν

πετρῶν ἁπλοῖ, καὶ καθεύδει βαθὺν καὶ εἰρηναῖον

> 4 ~

εὖ μάλα τὸν ὕπνον. Kal ἐκ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων
¢ 2 ” Ψ > 2 ξ μὰς >

ἁπάντων ἔνσπονδα ὥς ἐστίν ot καλῶς οἶδε,
; \ ν᾽ ἢ [κ , wv:

πέφρικε δὲ τοὺς ὄρνιθας ὅσοι θαλάττης ἔντροφοι
/ 3 ‘ / ἐν ~

καί εἰσι Kal νομίζονται. ἐὰν οὖν ἐκείνων ἐπιφανῇ

τις, ὃ δὲ ἀναπάλλεται καὶ πηδᾷ χορείᾳ τινὶ

φυσικῇ καὶ ὀρχήσει 3 ὡς ἂν εἴποις μάλα ἀπορ-
/ # > 4) 4 ins f >

pjre,* ἔστ᾽ ἂν ἀπὸ τῆς πέτρας ἐξαλλόμενος εἶτα

> \ “ [4 and v 9 > 7

ἐμπεσὼν τοῖς κύμασι σωθῇ. "Αδωνιν δ᾽ ἐθέλουσι
, fad

λέγειν αὐτόν, ἐπεὶ καὶ γῆν καὶ θάλατταν ἔχει
,ὕ “Ὁ .Ἂ

φίλην, τῶν πρώτων ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν θεμένων τὸ ὄνομα
> , > ~

αἰνιξαμένων és τὸν τοῦ Kudpov παιδὸς βίον τὸν

? / ~ ~ -

διῃρημένον δύο δαίμοσι, τῆς μὲν ὑπὸ γῆς, τῆς δὲ
“4 “ > ~

ἄνω γῆς ἐρώσης αὐτοῦ

37. Φυτοῦ ἑτέρου κλάδος ἐπιφύεται πρέμνῳ,
προσήκων οἱ μηδὲ ἕν πολλάκις. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον

1 Jac: τὸ ὄνομα MSS.
3 ὀρχηστικῇ.

4 Reiske : ἀπορρήτως.
5 αὐτοῦ ἑκατέρας.

256

2 ἐξοωκοιτον αὐτόν.

and is yellow in appearance. There are two names
for it in common use, for some call it ° Adonis,

others ‘ Exocoetus’’.¢ For, you see, when the waves
are lulled in places where the water 1s calm and
smooth, it runs aground, borne forward by the force
of the wave, and spreading itself upon the rocks,
sleeps a deep and tranquil sleep. And it is well
aware that there is peace between it and all other
creatures, though it dreads all birds that are or are
reputed to be nurslings of the sea. And so if one
appears, the fish leaps up and dances as nature has
taught it with movements that, one might say,
paffle description, until it Jumps off the rock, falls
into the sea, and is safe. People like to call it
‘ Adonis’ because it loves both land and sea, and
those who first gave it this name were hinting (so I
think) at the son of Cinyras ° whose life was divided
between two goddesses; one who loved him was
beneath the earth, the other above.

37. A twig of one tree will grow on the aa = Grafting of

another to which it often bears no relation.

4 That is, ‘sleeping out of the water.’ The fish has not
rarer a the son of Cinyras by his daughter Myrrha.
Aphrodite concealed the baby in a chest which she entrusted
to Persephone. On Persephone’s declining to give the child
back Zeus ordained that he should spend one half of each year
with either goddess. ,

257

VOL, I. K

AELIAN

᾽ 4 .
Θεόφραστος λέγει, φυσικώτατα ἀνιχνεύσας ὅτι τὰ

ὀρνύφια τὴν ἄνθην τῶν δένδρων σιτούμενα εἶτα
ἐπὶ τοῖς φυτοῖς καθήμενα τὰ περιττὰ ἀποκρίψει.
οὐκοῦν τὸ σπέρμα ταῖς κοιλάσι Kal ταῖς ὀπαῖς
αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖς σηραγγώδεσιν ἐμπῖπτον καὶ
ἐπαρδόμενον τοῖς ὄμβροις τοῖς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, εἶτα
ἀναφύει ἐκεῖνα 3 ἐξ ὧν ἐβλάστησεν οὕτω τοι
καὶ ἐν ἐλαίᾳ συκῆν κατανοήσεις, καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ ἄλλο.

38. Φωλεύει δὲ 2 ἐν τοῖς μυχοῖς τῆς θαλάττης
τὸ πρόβατον, καὶ οἱ καλούμενοι ἥπατοι, καὶ
οὕσπερ οὖν φιλοῦσιν ἁλιεῖς ὀνομάζειν πρέποντας.
καὶ μέγιστοι μέν εἰσιν ἰδεῖν τὴν φύσιν, νωθεῖς δὲ
τὴν νῆξιν, καὶ εἱλοῦνται περὶ τοῖς φωλεοῖς, ἔνθεν
τοι οὐδὲ ἀπολείπουσι τὴν σφετέραν ὑποδρομήν.
λοχῶσι δὲ τῶν ἰχθύων τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων τοὺς
παρανέοντας. ἀριθμοῖτο δ᾽ ἂν ἐν τούτοις καὶ ὁ
ὄνος" δέδοικε δὲ μάλιστα ἰχθύων τὴν τοῦ Σειρίου
ἐπιτολὴν οὗτος ὁ ὄνος.

f 4 , > “A - -
99. Τίκτεται δὲ ἄρα ἐν τοῖς τῶν πυρῶν ληϊίοις
ἢ a > 7 \ mS a ᾿
καὶ ταῖς αἰγείροις καὶ ταῖς ovKats® προσέτι τὸ
~ i “ τ >
τῶν κανθαρίδων φῦλον, ὥσπερ οὖν ᾿Αριστοτέλης
“4 3} ᾿ ζω 3 ἤ “~ ΄-
λέγει, ἐν γε pny’? τοῖς ἐρεβίνθοις τὸ τῶν καμπῶν,
“ > ἢ A “a
ἐν δὲ (τῷ ὃ opdBw φαλάγγια ἄττα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς
e ,ὔ
πράσοις ἢ καλουμένη πρασοκουρίς. τίκτεται δὲ
3 “- ,ὔ 4
Kat ἐν τῇ κράμβῃ σκωλήκων. γένος, Kal ὄνομα
1 ἐν rats κοιλάσι.
2. ἐκεῖνο.
3 3
3. ἐβλάστησεν ἀναπείθει MSS, κἀμὲ πείθει Jac.
4 δὲ καί.
5 διαυτᾶται τό.
” γε μήν] μέν.
258

6 Schn: τοῖς σύκοις.
8 δὲ >? td “
€ ὁρόβῳ γεννᾶται.

ON ANIMALS, IX. 37-39

Theophrastus, who has traced the cause of this in a

thoroughly scientific way, explains the cause [CP

9.17.5 & 8]: small birds eat the blossoms of trees
and then as they sit upon the trees void their
excrement. And so the seed dropping into hollows
and cracks and cavities, and being watered by the
yains of heaven, produces the same wood as that
from which it sprang. Thus you will see a fig-tree
on an olive-tree, and the same with other trees.

38. The Sea-sheep and the Hepatus* as it is
named, and what fishermen are accustomed to call
the Prepon ὃ have their lairs in the recesses of the sea.
They are of enormous size to look at but sluggish
swimmers, and range to and fro around their lairs,
and so it comes about that they never abandon their
hiding-places. But they lie in wait for fish of weaker
species that swim past. The Hake too may be
reckoned as belonging to this class. More than any
other fish does it dread the rising of the Dog-star.

39. It seems that the. family of Blister-beetles ¢
is produced in fields of wheat and on poplar-trees
and on fig-trees also, as Aristotle says [HA 552 Ὁ 1];
and Caterpillars are produced among peas, and
certain Spiders among bitter vetch, and the Leek-
cutter,? as it is called, among leeks. And in the

cabbage is born a kind of worm which derives its

¢ Unidentified; not the same as the Hepatus of 15. 11.

Ὁ Unidentified.

¢ See D. W. Thompson’s note on Arist. l.c. (Eng. tr.).

ἃ 9 ‘leaf-maggot’ (Hort on Thphr. HP 7. 5. 4); ‘Prob.
milliped ’ (L-S®), The Hylemyia antiqua (order Anthomyidae)
may attack the bulb of leeks.

259

The Sea~
sheep, and
others

Insects, etc.,

orn in
plants

_ AELIAN.

αὐτῷ ἐκ τῶν ἠθῶν, ἐν οἷς διαιτᾶται. καλεῖται
γοῦν κραμβίς. τίκτει {δέ 1 τι καὶ ἡ μηλέα'
καὶ διαφθείρει μὲν τοῦτο πολλάκις τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ
φυτοῦ τοῦδε, ταῖς δὲ ἔτι τοῦ τίκτειν ἐχούσαις
ὥραν γένοιτο ἂν καὶ ἐς κύησιν ἀγαθόν. καὶ τὸν

ON ANIMALS, IX. 39-42

name from its habitat. At any rate it is called the

ἕ Cabbage-caterpillar.e The apple-tree also produces

a creature ὃ which frequently destroys the fruit of this
tree, although it may help women who are still of an
age to bear children to conceive. How this happens
another shall tell.

fa “a 3,
τρόπον ἐρεῖ ἄλλος. :
40. It seems that every creature knows in which Animals ἼΣ

ΧΟ wher

part of its body its strength resides, and this gives it their

40. Olde δὲ dpa τῶν ζῴων ἕκαστον ἐν ᾧ μέρει "eside : ne
“ ᾿ confidence, for when attacking it employs it as a strength les

4 \ iA A \ 4 “a Α >
κέκτηται THY ἀλκὴν, Kat τούτῳ θαρρεῖ, Kal ἐπι-
~ ἫΝ “~ ~
βουλεῦον μὲν χρῆται ὡς ὅπλῳ, κινδυνεῦον δὲ ds
3 / e ~ -'
ἀμυντηρίῳ. ὁ γοῦν ξιφίας ἀμύνεται 5 τῷ ῥύγχει
ξ ξί wv θ 4 f λ . ¢ ὃ 4 Ἀ -
ὡς ξίφει, ἔνθεν τοι καὶ κέκληται: ἡ δὲ τρυγὼν τῷ
A ¢ 4 “ ~
κέντρῳ, ἡ δὲ μύραινα τοῖς ὀδοῦσι, Kal μάλα γε
5. ἢ ee A ~
εἰκότως" ἔχει ὃ γὰρ αὐτῶν διστοιχίαν.

41. Οἱ μὲν ὁ μῦς οἱ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν δειλὸν καὶ
ἀσθενὲς ζῷόν εἰσι, καὶ φοβοῦνται κτύπον, καὶ
τὴν γαλῆν πεφρίκασι κρίξασαν: δειλοὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ
ἀρουραῖοι. τῶν γε μὴν οἰκετῶν θρασύτεροι οἱ
θαλάττιοι. μικρὸν μὲν αὐτῶν τὸ σῶμα, τόλμα
δὲ ἄμαχος: καὶ θαρροῦσι δύο ὅπλοις, δορᾷ τε
εὐτόνῳ καὶ ὀδόντων κράτει’ μάχονται δὲ καὶ τοῖς
ἰχθύσι τοῖς ἁδροτέροις καὶ τῶν ἁλιέων τοῖς
μάλιστα θηρατικοῖς.

1 (δέ) add. Η. 2 ἀμύνει.

a 8 Ges: ἔχουσι.
μὲν οὖν. 5 ἐστι.

“ The larvae or caterpillar of the large white butterfly, Pieris
rapae, injure cabbages, turnips, radishes, etc, ἜΝ

260

weapon, when in danger as a means of defence.
For instance, the Swordfish defends itself with its
snout as with a sword; hence its name; and the
Sting-ray with its sting, and the Moray with its
teeth, and well it may, because it has a double row
of them.

41. The domestic Mouse is a timorous and feeble The Mouse

creature and is scared by noise and trembles at the
squeak of a marten.° Field-mice also are timorous,
whereas the Sea-mice ὦ are bolder than the domestic

animal. Though their body is small their courage is The ‘Sea-
irresistible, and this they derive from two weapons, τος

their tough skin and their powerful teeth. And
they fight even with fish of greater bulk and with
the most skilled fishermen.

ὃ The caterpillar of the Codling moth, Carpocapsa pomonella

¢ With us it would be ‘the mew of a cat.’

ὦ Oppian (Hal. 1. 174) speaks of μυῶν χαλεπὸν γένος as
‘confident in their tough hide and close-set teeth,’ and as
‘contending with men, though not so very large.’ This is
probably the Zurtle, whose sharp but toothless jaws can
are a savage bite. See Thompson, Gk. fishes, s.v. μῦς, ΤΊ,
p. 167.

261

AELIAN

42. Τῆς τῶν ὡρῶν μεταβολῆς ἔχουσιν αἰσθη-:
τικῶς οἱ θύννοι καὶ ἴσασι τροπὰς ἡλίου ὀξύτατα
καὶ δέονται τῶν τὰ οὐράνια εἰδέναι δεινῶν 1 οὐδὲ
ἕν. ὅπου 3 γὰρ ἂν αὐτοὺς χειμῶνος ἀρχὴ κατα-
λάβῃ, ἐνταῦθα ἡσυχάζουσί τε καὶ ἀτρεμοῦσιν
ἀγαπητῶς, καὶ καταμένουσιν ἐς τὴν ἐπιδημίαν
τῆς ἰσημερίας.3 καὶ τεκμηριοῖ ᾿Αριστοτέλης τοῦτο"
ὅτι δὲ τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὁρῶσι, τῷ δὲ
ἄλλῳ οὐκέτι, καὶ Αἰσχύλος ὁμολογεῖ λέγων ἡ

4
τὸ σκαιὸν ὄμμα παραβαλὼν θύννου δίκην.

παρίασί τε ἐς τὸν Πόντον, καὶ κατὰ τὴν δεξιὰν
ἑαυτῶν πλευρὰν τὴν γῆν λαμβάνουσι, καθ᾽ ἣν καὶ
βλέπουσιν" ἐξιόντες τε αὖ κατὰ τὴν ἀντιπέρας 4
νέουσι τῆς γῆς ἐχόμενοι, τὴν φρουρὰν τὴν τοῦ
σώματος κατὰ τὸν ὁρῶντα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν λαμ-
βάνοντες προμηθέστατα.

45. Τοῖς παγούροις τὸ πρῶτον ἔλυτρον ῥήγνυται,
καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ ὄφεις τὸ γῆρας, οὕτω δήπου καὶ
οὗτοι τὸ CoTpaKoV ἀποδύονται. ὅταν δὲ αἴσθωνται
ἀφιστάμενον τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτό, πανταχοῦ φοιτῶσιν
οἰστρούμενοι καὶ μαστεύοντες τροφὴν πλείονα,
wa oyKov προσγενομένου αὐτοῖς ὑποπρησθέντες
ἀπορρήξωσιν ἑαυτῶν τὸ ἔλυτρον. ὅταν δὲ διολί-
σθωσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλεύθεροι γένωνται, κεῖνται
παρειμένοι κατὰ τῆς ψάμμου, νεκροῖς εἰκασμένοι"
δεδοίκασι δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς φυομένης αὐτοῖς δορᾶς
UypoTepas τε οὔσης καὶ ἔτι ἁπαλῆς. κατὰ μικρὰ

1 ποιουμένων ΟΥ̓ προστ-. 5. Jac: ὅποι.

3 τὴν τῆς ἐπιδημίας i i
«ὙΠ: YAS ἰσημερίαν.
ἀντίπερα.

262

ON ANIMALS, IX. 42-43

seasons and knows precisely when the solstices occur
and has no need whatsoever of persons skilled in
celestial matters. For in whatever place the
beginning of winter overtakes these fish, there they
are glad to remain at rest without stirring, and
there they stay until the coming of the equinox.
Aristotle bears witness to this [Hd 599 Ὁ 9]. And
that they see with one eye and not with the other is
admitted by Aeschylus when he says[fr.308 N]

‘ Casting his left eye askance like a tunny.’

And they pass into the Euxine, keeping the land on
their right, on which side in fact they look out.
Contrariwise when issuing from the Euxine they
swim along the opposite shore and hug the land,
taking the utmost precaution to safeguard their life
by means of the eye which sees.

43, The first shell of the common Crab splits and, Thecommon

just as snakes slough their ‘old age,’ so do these ™
creatures put off their shell. And directly they
perceive that it is coming away from their flesh they

‘move frantically in every direction in their search

for more food, in order that they may become in-
flated by the additional bulk and so break off their
shell. And when they have contrived to slip out of
it and are free, they lie on the sand exhausted like
dead bodies. But their growing shell causes them
anxiety while it is still rather pliable and tender.
Gradually however they gather themselves together
and come to life, as it were, and begin by eating
sand. But as long as their outer covering consists
ἃ πρώτης .. . ψάμμου “ verba corrupta,’ H.; but cp. Opp.
Hal. 1. 96, ψάμμον ἐρεπτόμενοι καὶ ὅσ᾽ ἐν ψαμάθοισι φύονται.

263

42. The Tunny is aware of the changes of the The Tunny

AELIAN

ὃ \ ¢ 4 10 f \ 3 f : f
ἐ ἑαυτοὺς ἀθροίσαντες καὶ ἀναβιωσκόμενοι τρόπον
7 Δ A > nm
τινά, πρώτης μὲν ἀπογεύονται THs ψάμμου. ἐς
~ » /
τοσοῦτον δὲ ἄτολμοί εἰσι καὶ ἥκιστα θαρραλέοι, és

ON ANIMALS, IX. 43-46

of membrane, for so long are they timid and utterly

lacking in courage. When however the membrane
begins to harden and to assume the nature of a shell,

then they cast aside their fears, and the protection
of their covering and their full suit of armour, as you
might call it, gives them the same confidence as a
shield would.

ὅσον αὐτοῖς ὑμὴν περίκειται στέγασμα 1 ἔξωθεν"
ὅταν δὲ ἄρξηται πήγνυσθαι καὶ ἐς ὀστράκου

tow μεταχωρεῖν, ἀπέρριψαν ἐνταῦθα τὴν δειλίαν,
ὡς ὅπλῳ θαρροῦντες τῇ τῆς περιβολῆς σκέπῃ τε
ἅμα καὶ 3 f

¢ aN 3}
ὡς ἂν εἴποις πανοπλίᾳ. 44. The race of men known as Troglodytes is The Troglo-

famous, and derives its name from its manner of ies"

living. Snakes are afraid of them, the reason being

that the men eat them. |
Snakes when engaged in coupling emit a most

offensive odour.

44, 'Γρωγλοδύται γένος ἀνθρώπων ὑμνεῖται, Kat
; 4 ~ “

τό ye ὄνομα εἴληφεν ἐκ τῆς διαίτης. φοβοῦνται
\ x

δὲ αὐτοὺς ot ὄφεις. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, ἐσθίουσιν αὐτοὺς
¢ v A , ὃ A LAA ὅλ. ς ”

ot ἄνθρωποι. μιγνύμενοι δὲ ἀλλήλοις οἱ ὄφεις

βαρυτάτην ὀσμὴν ἀφιᾶσιν.

45. Ifa field, or if trees with fruit upon them are The Octopus
and iruit-

45. ᾿Αγροῦ γειτνιῶντος θαλάττῃ καὶ φυτῶν
παρεστώτων ἐγκάρπων γεωργοὶ πολλάκις κατα-
λαμβάνουσιν ἐν ὥρᾳ θερείῳ πολύποδάς τε καὶ
ὀσμύλους ἐκ τῶν κυμάτων προελθόντας καὶ διὰ
τῶν πρέμνων ἀνερπύσαντας καὶ τοῖς κλάδοις
περιπεσόντας καὶ ὀπωρίζοντας, καὶ δίκην 4 ἐπέθε-
σαν τοῖς φωρσὶ συλλαβόντες αὐτούς. ἀνθ᾽ ὧν δὲ
ἐτρύγησαν οἱ προειρημένοι, ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀντεφεσ-
τιῶσι ὅ du ἑαυτῶν τοὺς δεσπότας τῶν σεσυλημένων
καρπῶν.

46, “Puades ὄνομα θαλαττίου ξῴου σοφοῦ διαγ-
νῶναι τὴν τῶν ὡρῶν διάβασιν. ὑπαρχομένου γοῦν
τοῦ χειμῶνος ἡσυχάζουσι τοὺς κρυμοὺς ἀποδιδρά-
σκουσαι, καὶ ἀσμένως ἑἕαυτὰς τῇ καταμονῇ

1.3 , ᾷ a | ,
τὸ στέγασμα. καὶ ἐς τὸν βίον.
8 διαίτης καὶ τοῦ βίου δηλονότι.

264

close by the sea, farmers often find that in summer trees

Octopuses and Osmyluses* have emerged from the
waves, have crept up the trunks, have enveloped |
the branches, and are plucking the fruit. So when
they have caught them they punish them. And as
quittance for what the aforesaid fish have reaped
they provide the owners of the pillaged fruit with a
feast.

46. ‘ Migrants’ is the name for marine creatures The migra-

that are clever at knowing the transition of the
Seasons. At any rate at the beginning of winter
they escape from the frosts and remain at rest and
are glad by so remaining to keep warm, sharing

@ See 5, 44.

4 τὴν δίκην. 5 ἀνθεστιῶσι V, ἢ.

265

AELIAN

θάλπουσαι ἰσομοιρίᾳ ἀδελφικῇ: εἶτα ἦρος 1 νεῖν
ὑπάρχονται ἐκεῖναί γε καὶ πορείας τῆς μακροτέρας,
καὶ νέμονται τροφὴν οὐ μόνον τὴν προσπεσοῦσαν,
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἣν ἂν μαστεύσασαι εἶτα ἀνιχνεύσωσιν.

7. Τοὺς ἐχίνους ἔτι ζῶντας καὶ ἐν τοῖς

ὀστράκοις ὄντας καὶ προβεβλημένους τὰ κέντρα εἴ
é " ὃ / 3 A} A ἐλ 2;

τις συντρίψας καὶ διαρρίψας ἐς τὴν θάλατταν ἄλλο
ἄλλῃ τρύφος καταλίποι, τὰ δὲ ἄρα συνέρχεται
αὖθις καὶ ἑνοῦται καὶ τὸ συγγενὲς θρύμμα a ἀνέγνω,
καὶ προσπλακέντα ᾿ συνέφυ. καὶ ὁλόκληροι γίνον-
ται φύσει τινὶ θαυμαστῇ καὶ ἰδίᾳ αὖθις.

8. ‘Yaép τοῦ πλείονα τὴν ἐπιγονὴν τῶν ζῴων
σφίσι γίνεσθαι οἱ τούτων μελεδωνοὶ : τὰ ἄρθρα
τῶν θηλειῶν καὶ οἰῶν καὶ αἰγῶν καὶ ἵππων
ἀνατριβοῦδι κατὰ τὸν τῆς ὀχείας καιρὸν ἁλῶν καὶ
λίτρου * τὰς χεῖρας. ἀναπλήσαντες. ἐκ τούτων
ὄρεξις αὐτοῖς γίνεται περὶ τὴν ἀφροδίτην μᾶλλον.
ἕτεροι δὲ πεπέριδι καὶ μέλιτι τὰ αὐτὰ χρίουσι,
λίτρῳ ὃ δὲ ἄλλοι καὶ κνίδης καρπῷ σμυρνίῳ δὲ
ἤδη τινὲς ἔχρισαν καὶ -λίτρῳ. ἐκ δὴ τοῦδε τοῦ
ὀδαξησμοῦ ἀκράτορες ἑαυτῶν γίνονται αἱ θήλειαι
ποῖμναι, καὶ ἐπιμαίνονται τοῖς ἄρρεσιν.

49. Τῶν κητῶν τῶν μεγίστων αἰγιαλοῖς καὶ
ἡόσι καὶ τοῖς λεπροῖς ὃ καλουμένοις καὶ βραχέσι
χωρίοις προσπελάζει οὐδὲ ἕν, οἰκεῖ δὲ τὰ πελάγη.
καὶ ἔστι μέγιστα ὅ τε λέων καὶ ἡ ζύγαινα καὶ ἡ

1 ἦρι. ἜΝ * προσπλακέν.
3 μελεδωνοὶ καὶ νομεῖς. 4 yirpov.

fd “a
5 virpw. | 8 éhadpois.

266

ON ANIMALS, IX. 46-49

their warmth in brotherly fashion. Then in the
spring they begin to swim greater distances and feed
not only upon what comes their way but on what
they have sought for and tracked down.

47. If one crushes Sea-urchins while still alive The Sea-
within their shells and with their spines protruding eee
and then throws one bit here and another there into
the sea and leaves them, they come together again
and join up: they recognise their related fragments,
and attaching themselves grow together. And it is
by some marvellous and peculiar force of Nature that
they become whole ἐν:

48, With a view to increasing the offspring of their come):

imulants

animals their keepers and herdsmen at the mating for animals

season take handfuls of salt and of sodium carbonate

and rub the genitals of their female asses and goats

andmares. These substances produce in the animals

a greater appetite for sexual intercourse. Others

rub their parts with pepper and honey; others

again with sodium carbonate and nettle-seed. And

some have in fact applied Cretan alexanders and

sodium carbonate. And from the consequent

irritation the females of a herd cannot contain

themselves but go mad after the males.

49. There is not one of the largest Cetaceans that The largest
of the
comes near the shore or the beach or ἡ leprous ’ (that ¢ Cetaceans
is, rocky) spots or into shallow water: they live in

the deeps. The largest of them are the Sea-lion,
267

AELIAN

πάρδαλις καὶ of φύσαλοι καὶ ἡ πρῆστις Kal ἡ

, /
καλουμένη μάλθη- δυσανταγώνιστον δὲ apa {τὸν 3
/ “~
θηρίον τοῦτο Kat ἄμαχον. καὶ 6 κριὸς δεινὸν 2
- \ f ? 2
ζῷον καὶ κίνδυνον φέρον, εἰ καὶ πόρρωθεν φανείη,
“΄-᾿" ~ 7 -
τῇ τῆς θαλάττης ταράξει καὶ τῷ κλύδωνι ὃν ὃ
3 /
ἐργάζεται. καὶ vawwa,*
λλ , 4 ~ A ‘ ~
ναυτιλλομένοις αὕτη γε. κυνῶν δὲ περὶ διαφορᾶς
1 35 ~ 9
καὶ ἁλκῆς ἀνωτέρω εἶπον.

50. At καστορίδες ζῷόν εἰσι θαλάττιον, καὶ ἐπὶ
ταῖς ἀκταῖς καὶ ταῖς πέτραις ταῖς προβεβλημέναις
ἀπόφημόν τινα κωκυτὸν μεθιᾶσι, καὶ ὠρύονται
βαρύτατα. τούτου τοίνυν τοῦ ἤχου ὅστις ἂν
ἀκούσῃ, ἀἄφυκτά οἵ ἐστι, καὶ οὐ μετὰ μακρὸν
ἀποθνήσκει. καὶ ἡ φάλλαινα δὲ τῆς θαλάττης
πρόεισι καὶ ἀλεαΐνεται τῇ ἀκτῖνι. κνεφαῖαι δὲ αἱ
φῶκαι ἐξίασι μᾶλλον: ἤδη μέντοι καὶ μεσημβρίας
οὔσης * καθεύδουσι τῆς θαλάττης ἔξω. τοῦτό τοι
καὶ Ὅμηρος ἤδει, καὶ ἐν ᾿Οδυσσείᾳ τὸν Μενέλεων
πεποίηκε TO Τηλεμάχῳ καὶ τῷ Πεισιστράτῳ
περιηγούμενον τὴν κοίτην αὐτῶν τήνδε, ὅτε τὰ ἐν
Φάρῳ καὶ περὶ 1ἱ]ρωτέως τοῦ θαλαττίου δαΐμονος
αὐτοῖς ὁ Μενέλεως διεξζήει καὶ τῆς μαντείας, ἣν
ἐμαντεύσατό οἱ 6 Ἰἱρωτεὺς ὃν εἶπον.

|

D1. TptyAns πέρι ἀνωτέρω εἶπον: ὃ δὲ οὐκ
“- >” > 2 “

εἶπον, νῦν ἐρῶ. ἐν ᾿Ἐλευσῖνι τιμὰς ἔχει ἐκ τῶν

1 <7é> add. Η.

2 ἰδεῖν ἐχθρόν.

3 Ges: τὸ κλυδώνιον αὐτός MSS, αὐτός del. Η.
4 Schn from Opp. Hal. 1. 8172 : ζύγαινα.

: δρᾷ οὐδὲ ἐργάζεται.

a
ὑπακούσῃ. ? οὔσης καί.

268

5 3 tf 5 “w :
οὐκ αἱἰσιον οραμα ” τοῖς

ON ANIMALS, IX. 49-51

the Hammer-headed Shark,* the Sea-leopard, the
great Whales,* the Pristis, and the fish called
Maltha. This last monster is a terrible antagonist
and invincible. The Ram-fish ® also is a creature
to be dreaded and is dangerous, even if it emerges
at a distance, owing to the upheaval in the sea and
the wave which it creates. The Sea-hyena too is no
auspicious sight for seafarers. As to Sharks, I have
spoken above of their different kinds and of their
strength. .

50. Sea-calves ὁ are marine animals, and on head-
lands and projecting rocks they utter a kind of
ominous cry and a very deep roar. And moreover

whoever hears this sound, for him there is no escape,

but he dies soon after. |

The Whale too comes out of the sea and warms The Whale

itself in the sun. But Seals emerge for choice when

it is dark, although they do in fact sleep on shore at The Seal

midday. Homer knew this, and in the Odyssey
[4. 400] he has represented Menelaus explaining to
Telemachus and Pisistratus this habit they have of
resting, when he was telling them of what happened
at Pharos and of the sea-god Proteus and of the
prophecy which was uttered by the aforesaid Proteus.

51. I have spoken above ὦ of the Red Mullet, but The Rea
what I did not mention then I willnow. At Eleusis

4 The only animals in the list that have been certainly
identified. ᾿

> See below, 15. 2 n.

¢ Generally taken to mean‘ Seals,’ but the description that
follows points rather to the Walrus; and so Gossen (ὃ 215)
understands the word.

@ See 2. 41.

269

The
Sea-calf

ullet

li μῶν Nowe ear eueanunreawencnuaynanrse τ Z

AELIAN _ ᾿

, . | ~ e¢ ? ‘ ~ ~ “~

μυουμένων, καὶ διπλοῦς 6 λόγος τῆς τιμῆς 1 τῆσδε.
> Δ \ ~ ᾿

οἱ μέν φασιν, ἐπεὶ τρὶς τοῦ ἔτους τίκτει: οἱ δέ
. ἃ s 3 On 2

ἐπεὶ τὸν λαγὼν ἐσθίει, ὅσπερ οὖν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ
θ fl " , 2A ‘ , =
ανατηφορος. tow ὶ
ae ρος ς δὲ ἐρῶ τι περὶ τρίγλης καὶ

52. ἸΠέτονται δὲ ὅ ὅταν δείσωσι καὶ ἐξάλλονται
τῆς θαλάττης αἵ τε τευθίδες καὶ ot ἱέρακες οἱ
θαλάττιοι καὶ ἡ χελιδὼν ἡ πελαγία. καὶ αἱ μὲν
τευθίδες ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἄττουσι τοῖς πτερυγίοις,
καὶ ἐλαφρίζουσί γε ἑαυτὰς ὑψοῦ, καὶ κατὰ ἀγέλας
ὀρνίθων δίκην φέρονται κοινῇ: αἱ δὲ χελιδόνες
χθαμαλωτέραν ποιοῦνται τὴν πτῆσιν: οἵ γε μὴν
ἱέρακες ὑπὲρ τὴν ἅλμην φέρονται ὀλίγον, ὡς μόλις
ὅτι μὴ νήχονται ἀλλὰ πέτονται καταγνῶναι.

53. ᾿Αλῶνται δὲ ἄρα ἰχθῦς καὶ πλανῶνται οἱ
μὲν ἁθρόοι, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀγέλαι θρεμμάτων ἢ τάξεις
ὁπλυτῶν ἰοῦσαι κατὰ ἴλας καὶ φάλαγγας, οἱ δὲ ἐν
κόσμῳ κατὰ στοῖχον ἔρχονται, οἱ δέ, φαίης ἂν
αὐτοὺς εἶναι “λόχους. ; ἠρίθμηνται δὲ ἐς δεκάδας
ἄλλοι καὶ TAVTH συννέουσιν: ἤδη δὲ νήχονται καὶ
κατὰ ζεῦγός τινες. ἄλλοι δὲ οἰκουροῦσιν ἐν τοῖς
φωλεοῖς καὶ ἐνταυθοῖ καταζῶσιν.

54. [Πυνθάνομαι δὲ ὅτι ἄρα 3 οἱ νομευτικὴν
δεινοὶ ὅταν ἐθέλωσιν ἐπὶ πιμελὴν τὰ ζῷα ἐπιδοῦναι,
ἀφαιροῦσιν αὐτῶν τὰ κέρατα. καὶ τοὺς τράγους
ὅταν ἐθέλωσιν ἐς μίξιν προθυμοτέρους ἐργάσασθαι,
μύρῳ χρίουσιν αὐτῶν τὰς ῥῖνας, καὶ τὰ γένεια

i 3 fF 4 3
αἰτίας. = δὲ ἰχθύες. 3. ἄρα ὅτι,

270

VRB TUT REIS Taken mre οι ἀήσθυσων mates

ON ANIMALS, IX. 51-54

it is held in honour by the initiated, and of this

Ὁ honour two accounts are given. Some say, it is
_ pecause it gives birth three times in a year; others,
~~ pecause it eats the Sea-hare, which is deadly to man.

I shall perhaps recur to the Red Mullet.

52. Squids, Flying Gurnards,* and Flying-fish Flying-fish

_ when scared fly and leap out of the sea. Squids leap

furthest with the aid of their fins and rise high and
are borne along together in flocks like birds. Flying-
fish wing their flight at a lower level. The Flying
Gurnards however move at so little distance above
the surface of the sea, that you can hardly tell that

they are not swimming but flying.

53. It seems that Fishes roam and wander about, Fish moving

some in masses, like troops of animals or bands of
hoplites marching in ranks or in lines ; others advance
in an orderly column; others again you would say
were in companies. Others are numbered off by
tens and swim together in that formation; there are
even some that swim in couples, while there are
others that remain at home in their lairs and spend
their lives there. 7 |

in formation

54. I have ascertained that skilled herdsmen when Various

α See Thompson, Gk. fishes, Ὁ. 287.
| 271

. 1.“ . . ‘ treatments
wishing to fatten their animals, remove their horns. for domestic

And when they wish to stimulate their he-goats 00°
couple, they rub perfume on their nostils; they even

als

AELIAN

μέντοι καὶ ἐκεῖνα χρίουσι τῶν αὐτῶν. πάλιν τε
τῆς ἄγαν ὀρέξεως ἀναστέλλουσιν, ἐάν τις αὐτῶν
μέσας Tas οὐρὰς ἀποδήσῃ λίνῳ. ᾿Αριστοτέλης δέ
φησι τὰς ἵππους ἐκβάλλειν τὰ ἔμβρυα, ἐὰν ἐπὶ
πλέον ὀσφρήσωνται θρυαλλίδος λύχνου ἐσβεσμένης..1
ἀκούω δὲ ὅτι πρὸς τοὺς κύνας τοὺς οἰκουροὺς ἵνα
μὴ ἀποδιδράσκωσι τετέχνασται ἐκεῖνο. τὴν οὐρὰν
αὐτῶν καλάμῳ μετρήσαντες χρίουσι τὸν κάλαμον
βουτύρῳ, εἶτα μέντοι διδόασιν αὐτοῖς περιλιχμή-
σασθαι αὐτόν. καὶ καταμένουσί φασιν ὥσπερ οὖν

δεδεμένοι.

55. Ἴδια δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖνα κυνός. οὐχ ὑλακτοῦσιν,
εἰ TIS ἔχων οὐρὰν γαλῆς σὺν ἑαυτῷ εἶτα πρόσεισι,5
γαλῆς δ᾽ ἣν ἐθήρασε μέν, ἀποκόψας δὲ τὸν
προειρημένην οὐρὰν εἶτα ἀφῆκε ζῶσαν αὐτήν.
ὄνος δὲ οὐ βρωμήσεται, ἐὰν αὐτοῦ τῆς οὐρᾶς λίθον
ἁπαρτήσῃς, ὡς φασιν.

56. Ἔν ὥρᾳ θερείῳ, πολλοῦ πάνυ σφόδρα τοῦ
ἡλίου ἐνακμάζοντος, ot ἐλέφαντες ἀλλήλους χρίου-
σιν ἱλύι παχείᾳ, καὶ αὐτοῖς αὕτη ψῦχος τε παρέχει
καὶ οἰκίας ὑπάντρου τινὸς ἢ δένδροις καὶ κλάδοις
ἀμφιλαφοῦς ἡδίων ἐστὶ τοῖς ζῴοις τοῖς προειρημέ-
vols. οὗτοι ῥινηλατοῦσιν ἰσχυρῶς, καὶ αἴσθησιν
ὀξυτάτην ἔχουσι. προΐασι γοῦν ἀλλήλων 8 ὅδο-
ποιοῦντες, καὶ OG γε πρῶτος (ἴασι yap κατὰ
στοῖχον) τῆς ἐν ποσὶ πόας αἰσθόμενος καὶ ὅτι
διῆλθον “ἄνθρωποι ἐκ τῆς παραψαύσεως συνεὶς
αὐτῶν, ἀνασπᾷ τὴν πόαν καὶ δίδωσι τῷ κατόπιν
ὀσφραίνεσθαι, καὶ ἐκεῖνος τῷ μετ᾽ αὐτόν: καὶ ἧδε
ἡ ἀντίδοσις ὡς ἂν εἴποις διὰ πάντων ἔρχεται. καὶ
272

ON ANIMALS, IX. 54-56

a anoint their chins as well. On the other hand they

restrain an excessive appetite by tying a cord round
the middle of the animals’ tails. And Aristotle
asserts [HA 604 Ὁ 30] that mares miscarry if for some
length of time they smell an extinguished lamp-
wick. I have heard also of this device to stop
house-dogs from running away: they measure the
length of their tail with a rod, smear the rod with
butter, and then give it to the dog to lick. And the
dogs remain at home, they say, as though they were
fastened up.

55. Here is another peculiarity of Dogs. They How to.

silence Dogs

will not bark if one approaches them holding the

tail of a marten; but after cutting off the said taj] Donkeys

of the captured marten, one must let it go alive.
And a Donkey will not bray if you suspend a stone
from its tail, so they say.

56. In the season of summer when the sun’s blaze The
is at its strongest Elephants smear one another wi
thick slime: this affords them coolness and is more
agreeable to the aforesaid animals than a home
beneath a cave or embowered in trees and branches.
They are good at tracking by scent and have a very
keen sense of smell. At any rate on the march one
precedes another, and the leader (they move in
single file) takes note of the grass at his feet, and
when he realises from the brushing that men have
passed that way, he pulls up the grass and gives it to
the elephant behind him to smell, and he in turn to

i . [ ὃ..᾿ tt

1 ἐσβεσμένην. 2 προσείει Cobet. 8 ἀλλήλοις.

273

th Elephant

AELIAN

μέντοι (καὶ 1 ἐς τὸν οὐραγοῦντα ὅταν ἀφίκηται,
ὁ δὲ μέγα ἐπήχησεν, οὗ δὲ ὥσπερ οὖν σύνθημα
στρατιῶται ' λαβόντες εἶτα μέντοι ἐκτρέπονται ἐς.
τὰ τῶν ὁρῶν ἄγκη καὶ δάση ἢ τῶν ἕλῶν τὰ
κοιλότερα καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῶν πεδίων ὅσα κομᾷ
τοῖς θάμνοις. πάντως δὲ ἣν καταστείβουσιν
ἄνθρωποι, ταύτην ἀποδιδράσκουσιν"
γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον
αἱ νομαὶ emAirwow,* ot μὲν ὃ τὰς ῥίζας ἐξορύτ-
τουσιν καὶ σιτοῦνται καὶ ταύτας, οἱ δὲ ἀπίασι
ζητοῦντες χιλόν. καὶ ὅ γε ἐντυχὼν τῷ θηράματι
πρῶτος αὐτῶν ὑποστρέψας καλεῖ τοὺς συννόμους
5
καὶ ἐπί γε TO ἕρμαιον αὐτοὺς ἄγει.

e ~
ὑφορῶνται

ὅ1. Ἔν δὲ τῷ χειμῶνι τῷ βιαιοτάτῳ, κυμαι-
νούσης μὲν τῆς θαλάττης, σκληρόν γε μὴν τῶν
ἀνέμων καὶ βίαιον καταπνεόντων, φρίττουσι τὴν
σύντροφόν τε ἅμα καὶ φίλην οἱ ἰχθύες θάλατταν.
καὶ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν τοῖς πτερυγίοις ἐπαμῶνται τὴν
ψάμμον, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπηλυγάσαντες ὑποθάλπου-
σιν, οἱ δὲ ὑπειλοῦνταί 7 τινα πέτραν, ἐν σκέπῃ τε
τοῦ κρύους καὶ μάλα γε ἀσμένως ἡσυχάζουσιν"
οἱ δὲ ἐς τοὺς μυχοὺς τοῦ πελάγους καταθέοντες
εἶτα τὴν ἄνωθεν φρίκην ἐξέκλιναν κάτω καὶ ἐν
βυθῷ 8: οὐχ οὕτως γάρ φασιν ὥσπερ οὖν ἄνω
διοιδαίνειν 3 τε καὶ τύπτειν τὸ κῦμα ἀγριαῖνον.
ὑπαρχομένου δὲ τοῦ ἦρος καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἀέρος
φαιδροῦ γενομένου, τῶν δὲ φυτῶν θάλλειν ἀρχομέ-
νων καὶ τῶν λειμώνων τὰ σύντροφα κομώντων,
γαληνά τε τὰ τοῦ πελάγους καὶ ὑπεύδια αἰσθό-

1 <at> add. Η.
3 Jac: ἧ.

2 στρατιᾷ or στρατιᾶς.
4 καταλίπωσιν.

274

¢ 4 Ὁ \ 3 Ἢ
ὡς ἔχθιστον. ὅταν δὲ αὐτοὺς ᾿

ΩΡ E CERN LEG WORDS RESTLESS: Ae

ge Said ΕΡΡΡΕΕΜΙΕΝΣ eetstean sts esa
Me φβοφρεπέδοε seb ABSE AAR ENGLER CASES ριον SREP TENTCEALER EE CHAE Stabe EISEN SRE
este bc cet ase SE NEE NPE TP ESET ORAL EUS URI LAATEL DIA BLED ED EREUCEE EPL E NTT REEELAI A DELEON ἡ Rea Bean ψονων φααφδτοσειαδτυλσι nada

Peppa

τ eountry where

» sight call it
Ma ce to the one who is bringing up the rear, when

ON ANIMALS, IX. 56-57

: hind him.. And this exchange, as you
the one be pee through the whole herd, until it

ets loudly. Whereupon like soldiers at a

πα they turn sade to vales and thickets in τον

ountains or to low-lying marshes or even to leve

ec the bushes are dense. πάν at ie

avoid land which is trodden by men, tor

ee τὰν ee whom they suspect as their worst

enemy. And when their feeding-grounds fail some

of them dig up roots and eat them, while others g°

off in search of fodder. And the Elephant that is

first to find what he is seeking turns back and calls
his fellows and leads them to his lucky discovery.

57. In the severest winter when the sea is stormy
and the winds are blowing fierce and strong, Fish
dread their native and beloved sea. And some of
them heap up sand with their fins and so covered

hemselves warm,
πὰ ok and are glad to rest sheltered from ay
cold. Others again hasten down to the recesses τ
the sea and there below in the depths avoid
agitation from above. For, men say, the fury of the
waves does not at that depth swell and batter them
as it does above. But at the beginning of spring
when the sky grows bright and plants begin to put

their leaves
sea herbage, the Fish observing that the sea ᾿
smooth and calm, mount up and leap about an
ee -᾿-----------

: δέ. 4 ς 4 ? ? 4 . 7
6 αὐτὰς, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐσθίουσι καὶ ταῦτας.
7 ὑποδύονται Η.

® διοιδά Η
8 βυσσῷ. vovoavery Η.

215

Tish in
Winter

while others slip beneath —

and the fields to wave with their

chet etth PIT

AELIAN

ON ANIMALS, IX. 57-59

wim close to the shore as though they were return-

e 3 ,
μενοι ot ἰχθύες, ἀναθέουσι καὶ πηδῶσι, καὶ

/ σ᾿ o ᾽ Ὁ > : :
πλησίον τῆς γῆς νήχοντοαι, ὠσπερ οὖν ἥκοντες ἐξ.
ἀποδημίας. Σ᾿

-- trae ee FN OER SER EE

_ 68. These, it seems, are the three creatures which Longevity
from the smallest beginnings grow to the largest piephant
gige; among aquatic animals the Crocodile, among
pirds the Ostrich, and among quadrupeds the
Elephant. And Juba relates that his father possessed
an Elephant of a great age that was descended from
remote ancestors; and that Ptolemy Philadelphus
had an Ethiopian Elephant which had lived for many

ears and partly from its association with men and

artly from its training had become exceedingly
docile and gentle. He also tells of an Elephant
from India which belonged to Seleucus Nicator, and
he says moreover that it survived down to the
supremacy of the Antiochi.@

58. Τρία δὲ ἄρα ταῦτα ἐκ βραχίστων μέγιστα
ζῷα γίνεται" τῶν μὲν ἐνύδρων 6 κροκόδιλος, τῶν δὲ
ὑποπτέρων ἡ στρουθὸς ἡ μεγάλη, τῶν γε μὴν -
τετραπόδων ὁ ἐλέφας. λέγει δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιόβας γενέσθαι aa
μὲν αὐτοῦ τῷ πατρὶ πολυετῇ Λίβυν ἐλέφαντα
κατιόντα ex τῶν ἄνω τοῦ γένους: καὶ Πτολεμαίῳ
δὲ τῷ Φιλαδέλφῳ Αἰθίοπα, καὶ ἐκεῖνον ἐκ πολλοῦ
βιώσαντα γενέσθαι πραότατον καὶ ἡμερώτατον τὰ
μὲν ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους συντροφίας, τὰ
δὲ 1 πωλευθέντα' Σελεύκου τε τοῦ Νικάτορος
ΜΠ ἄδει ᾿Ινδὸν ἐλέφαντα, καὶ μέντοι καὶ
ιαβιῶναι τοῦτον μέχρι τῆ ὃν ᾿Αντιό
ἐπικρατείας φησίν. pe ee Se pales

59. All Fish that have a river or some lake near to Seafish
their native sea, when they are about to spawn Swit fresh water
out of the salt water, choosing in preference to the
waves water that is calm and not at all upheaved and
lashed by gales. For the tranquillity of river and
lake is well adapted to receive their offspring and. to

reserve their young from harm and from attack,
both for other reasons and especially because of the
absence or paucity of savage creatures. And lakes
and rivers normally enjoy this freedom. That is the
reason why the Euxine abounds in such a quantity
of fish: it has not learnt to foster monsters. If it

α Seleucus Nicator reigned 312-280 B.c.; Antiochus I, 280--

59. ᾿Ιχθύες ὅσοι ποταμὸν γείτονα τῇ θαλάττῃ τῇ
συντρόφῳ κέκτηνται ἢ καὶ λίμνην τινὰ ὅταν
μέλλωσι τίκτειν, ἐκνήχονται τῆς ἅλμης, τῶν 3
κυμάτων τὸ ἄκλυστον ὕδωρ προαιρούμενοι καὶ
ταραττόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν πνευμάτων καὶ τυπτόμενον
ἥκιστα. ἀγαθὴ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ τῶν ὑδάτων εἰρήνη
(τὴν. : λοχείαν ὑποδέξασθαι καὶ φυλάξαι ἀσινῆ τε
καὶ ἀνεπιβούλευτα τὰ βρέφη τῇ τε ἄλλῃ καὶ
μέντοι καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν θηρῶν ἐρημίαν καὶ σπάνιν"
φιλοῦσι δέ πὼς τήνδε τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἔχειν αἵ τε
λίμναι καὶ ot ποταμοί. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ πολλοῖς

|
}

LEBLER SIENA ERS

SALE GANGA TAGE EE AEREENSASRET CU DSTELESEDESESUABEEEERIL ANTES TREE

276 277

ἰχθύσιν εὐθενεῖται ὁ Εὖ ᾿ fa γὰ ᾿
xo θενεῖται ὃ ὕξεινος Ἰ]όντος" θηρία γὰρ τς 361 8.0.
7 ε
τρέφειν οὐκ ἔμαθε. φώκην δὲ εἴ που τρέφει καὶ ᾿
᾿ πὰ Ne cena yous: ‘ue. 8. Criv> add. H. 4 γῶν ἰχθύων τά.
:

ee

ὶ
:
|
|

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, IX. 59-62

does breed the seal and dolphins, they are of the
smallest, but from all other pests the fishes here are

protected.

δελφῖνας βραχίστους, φἀλλὰν 1 τῶν ye? ἀλλ ,
ἁπάντων οἱ τῇδε ἰχθῦς € : ἰσί | ν"
Hoe ἰχθῦς ἐν σκέπῃ εἰσίν.

ξ ὔ
60. At θαλάττιαι βελόναι λεπταὶ οὖσαι 8 καὶ
᾽
ee : ἐμβρύων μήτραν οὐκ ἔχουσαι τὴν
~ ?
ὕξην τῶν ἔνδον βρεφῶν οὐ φέρουσιν ἀλλὰ ῥήγνυν-
ται, καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον οὐ τί i
a TOV ρ οὐ τίκτουσιν ἀλλὰ
ἐκβάλλουσι τὰ τέκνα.

60. Pipefishes are slender, and having no womb The Pipefish
to contain their foetus they are unable to endure
the growth of their young within their bodies, but
purst open; and in this way they do not give birth
to, but eject, their offspring.

61. Λέγεται δὲ τὰ i ὶ
: ται δὲ τὰ ἴχνη καὶ τὰ γνωρί D
Ge Sirsa χνὴ καὶ τὰ γνωρίσματα τῶν

ΤΣ ἡγμάτων μὴ πάνυ τι εἶναι δῆλα καὶ

ρώμην, καὶ τὸ αἴτιον ἐκεῖνο εἶναι πυνθάνομαι

ὃ » “ὦ , :

ξύτατόν ἐστι TO ἐξ αὐτῆς φάρμακον καὶ διαδραμεῖν
ὠκιστον. οὐκοῦν ἣ μὲν ἐνέ SS ode fas
pera es ἢ μὲν ἐνέφυ, τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐπιπο-

evel, ἀλλὰ ἐς τοὺς ἔσω πόρους κατολισθάνει, καὶ
" ΄-.ἢὄΟ
τῆς μὲν ἐπιφανείας καὶ τοῦ χρωτὸς τοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν
3 “
ὄψιν ἀφανίζεται, ὠθεῖται δὲ ἔνδον. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ
T ξ é “ :

ἧς K λεοπάτρας 6 θάνατος τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Σεβαστὸν
O ’

ὑ πάνυ τι ῥᾳδίως ἐγνώσθη ἀλλὰ ὀψέ, δύο κεντημά-
των καὶ μάλα δυσθεά ἱ :
ΜΗ μᾷ a γε δυσθεάτων καὶ δυσθηράτων

\ “~
edith ἢ ὧν ἐφωράθη τὸ τοῦ θανάτου αἴνιγμα
~ Cal 3 °
oo ς TE Li ἰχνη τοῦ τῆς ἀσπίδος σύρματος
ῥάνη, πρό ηλα τοῖς ἐχουσι τῆς τούτων κινήσεως
τῶν ζῴων τὴν ἱστορίαν ὄντα.

61. It is said that the traces and indications of The bite of
the bites of the Asp are far from evident or easy to eae
detect. And the reason for this is, I learn, as follows.

The Asp’s poison is exceedingly sharp and spreads
very rapidly.. So when the Asp fastens on a man
the poison does not remain on the surface but
penetrates to the inner passages of the body and
disappears from view and from the skin before one’s
eyes, and presses inwards. That, you see, is why
the manner of Cleopatra’s death was by no means
easily recognised by Octavian’s companions, but only
after a time when two punctures, hard to detect and
discover, were observed, and through them was
revealed the riddle of her death. Besides, marks
of the Asp’s trail were visible, and they were clear
to persons acquainted with the movements of these

creatures.

Se keels ei SSE AUSSSIDEES DISET IGMIULE ESSE USED DRS ENS A SOESEDSY ys is

bd LOR ELE ego petelrats ra ae < ΤῸ ταν od ραν ΜΟΥ 5
edit ρου 0 00

, 6
62. Πομπηΐου ‘Poddov “Ῥωμαίοις ἀγορανομοῦν-
τος ἐν ᾿]αναθηναίοις 4 j Lv?)

ia ον ἡναίοις φαρμακοτρίβης ἀνὴρ καὶ
τοὺς ὄφεις ἐς τὰ θαύματα ὅ τρεφόντων
3

1 <add) add, He 2 τῶν δέ

3 οὖσαι κολπώδη. ᾿

4 Π > ” mt
. OL ? 3 ~ ~
τ α εἴωθε τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀγορᾷ ὃρᾶσθαι.
088: τραύματα.

62. When Pompeius Rufus was Aedile at the Death ofa

Panathenaea® a medicine-man, one of those who ae

keep snakes for show, amid a crowd of his fellow-

LR Ete ned ve

@ ἸΤαναθήναια is used as an equivalent for the Roman Quin-
quatrus, a festival held in March. Pompeius was Consul in
88 p.c. and a colleague of Sulla.

278
279

ws

022M CELI DEER ICEI A PPLE BEOL EASA SR CG σα

eB nite ten bit

μονονυτκλανε μα ἐνοασων te Boba Wn PAA ET OH

aie re Re CNR
~~ DMR NORA EDEN ποτα του AN ESAT Wont oe οο το

AELIAN

¢ # ¢ , |
ἑτέρων ὁμοτέννων ΄ DV, ἁ
‘0 μοτέχνων παρεστώτων πολλῶν, ἀσπίδα

A ~
κατὰ τοῦ βραχίονος προσάγει ἐς ἔλεγχον αὐτοῦ

~ , 1 \ 29 7
τῆς “σοφίας καὶ ἐδήχθη. εἶτα τῷ στόματι
ἐξεμύζησε τὸ κακόν. UO δ οὐκ ἐπ 4

ἐμύξησε TO κακόν. ὕδωρ δὲ οὐκ ἐπιρροφήσας,͵
οὐ γὰρ παρῆν, καίτοι παρεσκευασμένον οἱ (ἀνετέ-
τραπτο δὲ ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς τὸ σκεῦος), οἷα μὴ ἐκ-
κλύσας τὸν ἰὸν μηδὲ ἀ Ἵ wv βί
ee μηδὲ ἀπορρυψάμενος, τὸν βίον
ἀρωμιν μετὰ ἡμέραν οἶμαι δευτέραν, οὐκ
ἀλγῶν οὐδὲ ἐν, τοῦ μέντοι κακοῦ ἡσυχῆ διασήψαν-
Tos αὐτοῦ τὰ οὖλα καὶ τὸ στόμα.

63. Τοῦ ἦρος ἐνακμάζοντος καὶ τῆς γῆς ἐξαν-
θούσης οἴστρου τε ἀφροδισίου τὰ ζῷα ὑποπίμπλα-
ται καὶ μνημονεύει γάμων, καὶ ἀλλήλοις συμπλέ-
κεσθαι ὀργᾷ τά τε ὄρεια καὶ ὅσα ἐνθαλαττεύει
καὶ μετεωροπορεῖ ὅσα. τῶν δὲ ἰχθύων οἱ μὲν
Tals” ψάμμοις προσαποτρίβουσι τὰ da πυκνὰ
ὄντα καὶ ἀλλήλων ἐχό L δὲ Ἢ ΐ
ὄντα ἥλων ἐχόμενα, οἱ δὲ νηχόμενοι εἶτα
ἐκβάλλουσι “πάμπολύ τι τῶν φῶν τὸ χρῆμα, καὶ οἱ
κατόπιν νέοντες τὰ πολλὰ καταπίνουσιν. ἤδη
μέντοι καὶ οἱ ἄρρενες προηγοῦνται καὶ τοῦ θοροῦ
amoppaivovow,* αἱ δὲ θήλειαι ἑπόμεναι καὶ πάνυ
γε ἀπλήστως περιχανοῦσαι ἐμπίπλανται" καὶ ἥδε
ἐστίν ἢ μίξις αὐτῶν. ὅτι δὲ ἰχθύων τινὲς καὶ
συνοικοῦσιν ὡς γαμεταῖς, καὶ φυλάττουσιν αὐτάς
καὶ ζηλοτυπία τις καὶ ἐν ἰχθύων γένεσιν ἐξά-
πτεταῖ, ἀνωτέρω εἶπον.

: σοφίας" ὁ δὲ παρέσχεν.
> “ 3. 2
5 ὀργᾷ V, ὀρέγεται other MSS.
: Jac: τοῖς.
Jac: προσαπορραΐνουσιν.

280

. 2
ΝΜ scence vette ΠΤ ὀρ atc Dt WEEE pups Cae ᾿

νλλλονοξαν

pA AR ELE:

pte pent

Api teen BD OSAEA LAREN Abed ths

ON ANIMALS, IX. 62-63

practitioners applied an asp to his arm in order to

demonstrate his skill, and was bitten. Thereupon
he sucked out the poison with his mouth. He failed
however to swallow some water afterwards, there
peing none at hand although he had got some ready
(the vessel had been upset by an act of treachery),
and as he had not washed off the poison and
thoroughly rinsed his mouth he passed away after,
I believe, two days without suffering any pain,
though the poison had little by little reduced his
gums and his mouth to putrescence.

63. When spring is at its height and the earth is Fishes and

putting forth her blossoms, animals are filled with an
amorous impulse and bethink them of wedlock, and
all that dwell in mountain or sea or that fly in the
air desire to embrace one another. Among the
Fishes there are some that rub off their eggs, massed.
and clinging together, on the sand; others as they
swim spawn a great quantity of eggs, most of which
are swallowed by those that swim in the rear.® In
fact the males lead the way and scatter milt, and the
females that follow, open-mouthed and quite in-
satiable, swallowit. This is their method of coupling.
I have explained above how some fishes actually live

with the females and look after them as though they

were their τίνοσ," and that even among the various
kinds of fishes the fires of a sort of jealousy ° break
forth.

« Op. Hat. 2. 93. ὃ See 1. 14.

ὁ See 1. 25.
281

Ὧν

their mating

ΝΥΝ TE EMD ELEMENT AS Ν

ene

ἘΝ ΆΨΌΝΝΝ

AELIAN

64. Λέγει δὲ ᾿Αριστοτέλης, καὶ Δημόκριτος πρὸ |

> i 7 7
ἐκείνου, Θεόφραστός τε ἐκ τρίτων καὶ αὐτός
μὴ πῷ ἀλμυρῷ ὕδατι πρέφεσθωι τοὺς bbs, ἀλλὰ
ἡ τῷ ἁλμυρῷ ὕδατι τρέφεσθαι τοὺς ἰχθῦς, ἀλλὰ
τῷ παραμεμιγμένῳ * τῇ θαλάττῃ γλυκεῖ ὕδατι
--. 3, ᾿

καὶ ἐπεὶ δοκεῖ πως ἄπιστον, OL αὐτῶν τῶν ἔ
ἢ: Βα αι: βουληθεὶς τὸ τλε δ τᾷ, ποῦ (Neca:
iy: oor y/ εἰς Το εχῦεν ὁ TOU Νικομάχου
ae εἶναί τι πότιμον ὕδωρ ἐν πάσῃ θαλάττῃ, καὶ
᾿ ἐ 2 ὑ
é ἔγχεσθαι ταύτῃ. εἴ τις ἀγγεῖον ἐκ κηροῦ

΄΄- "
1 κοῖλον καὶ λεπτὸν καθείη κενὸν ἐς τὴν
\
re ατταν, ᾿εξάψας ποθὲν ὥστε ἀνιμήσασθαι dvvac-
αι, νυκτὸς διελθούσης καὶ ἡμέρας ἀρύτεται 4
[ ᾿
πεπλησμένον γλυκέος τε καὶ ποτίμου ὕδατος ὃ
av . nd \ -

. 70. ean ri pel lg δὲ ὁ ᾿Ακραγαντῖνος λέγει
oN i γλυκὺ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ ὕδωρ οὐ πᾶσιϑ
κ 3
1 τρόφιμον δὲ τῶν ἰχθύων. καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν

ΤΟ “ o~
τοῦδε τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἅλμῃ γλυκαινομένου λέγει φυσιικήν
ἣν ἐκεῖθεν εἴσεσθε. ᾿

65. Οἱ μυούμενοι τοῖν Θεοῖν οὐκ ἂν πάσαιντο
yareot φασιν' οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶναι καθαρὸν ὄψον
ὧν τῷ στόματι τίκτει. οὐ τίκτειν δὲ αὐτὸν ἔνιοι

ἔγουσιν, ἀλλὰ δείσαντά τι τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων
τὰ σκυλάκια καταπίνειν καὶ ἀποκρύπτειν, εἶτα
τοῦ φοβήσαντος παραδραμόντος ζῶντα ᾿ αὖθις
ἀνεμεῖν. τῆς δὲ τρίγλης οὐκ ἂν γεύσαιντο οἱ αὐτοὶ
μύοται, οὐδὲ μὴν ἡ τῆς Ἥρας τῆς ἐν ἴΑργει
ἱέρεια: καὶ τάς γε αἰτίας ἄνω που εἰπὼν οἶδα.

1 é
παρακειμένῳ. 2 χοῦτο. 3 νυκτὸς δέ
4 ἀρύεται 5 od ; sears
; ὕδατος μεστόν. δ πάνυ τι Ἶ Η.
« Aristotle.

> Demeter and Persephone, i
* 6, . .
mysteries were ΒΑ ΞΕ] aH none ΘΒΟΠΕΎΘΕ aan

282

ON ANIMALS, IX. 64-65

— 64. Aristotle [HA

7 590 a 18], and Democritus
pefore him [Diels / orsok® 1. 295; 2. 126], and third

in order Theophrastus [CP 6. 10. 2] assert that fish
salt water but by the fresh

are not nourished by

water that is mingled with the sea.
seems almost incredible, the son ὁ
wishing to confirm the statement by

says that in every sea

And since this
f Nicomachus,?
actual practice,

there is some drinkable water,

and that it can be proved in this way. If

a thin, hollow vessel of wax

into the sea, having

hauled up, after a night and a day it is,

up, full of fresh

Empedocles of Agrigentum as
PPF' that there is some fresh w

one makes

and lets it down empty

attached it so that it can be

when drawn

and drinkable water. And

serts [ fr. 66 Diels
ater in the sea, not

indeed perceptible to all, though it does nourish

fishes. And this sweetenin
brine he says is due to natural Ὁ

learn from his writings.

g of the water in the
auses, which you may

65. It is said that those who have been initiated
f the two goddesses ὃ will not certain fish

into the Mysteries ὁ

touch Dog-fish, for (they say) it is no
since it gives birth through its mouth.
ever maintain that it does not do so, but that when

its young have been frighte
life, it swallows and hides them away,

clean food,
Some how-

ned by attempts on their
and that when

the scare has passed, it again ejects them alive.
And these same initiates would not taste of a Red
Mullet, nor would the priestess of Her

The reasons for this
above somewhere.°

ἮΝ

IT know that I hav

¢ See ch. δ].

a at Argos.
e explained

283

Fresh water -
in the sea

Initiates
abstain from

rhghet

_ AELIAN ON ANIMALS, IX. 66

66. I have not forgotten that I have in a previous Mating of
passage * told of the mating of Viper and Moray ey
and how they couple, the Moray emerging from the

sea, the Viper fromitsden. But what I did not tell,

I now will, When the Viper intends to couple with

the Moray, in order to appear gentle as befits a
pridegroom, he disgorges and throws up his poison,

and then with a soft hissing sound, as though raising

a kind of pre-nuptial wedding chant, summons his
bride. And when they have together completed

their amorous revels, the fish makes for the waves

and the sea, while the snake gulps down his poison

again and goes back to his native haunts.

α See 1. 50.

: |
- 66. ἔχεως μὲν καὶ μυραΐνης γάμους καὶ ὅπως ὁ
ἀλλήλοις ὁμιλοῦσιν, ἡ μὲν προϊοῦσα τῆς 1 θαλάττης 7
ὁ δὲ ἐξέρπων τοῦ φωλεοῦ, ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν εἰπὼν
οὐκ ἐπιλέλησμαι. ὃ δὲ οὐκ εἶπον νῦν ἂν εἴποιμι
μέλλων 6 ἔχις ὁμιλεῖν αὐτῇ, ἵνα δόξῃ πρᾶος ὡς
πρέπει 3 νυμφίῳ, τὸν ἰὸν ἀπεμεῖ καὶ ἐκβάλλει ;
ῳ ς i \ , oe
οὕτως ὑποσυρίσας τὴν νύμφην παρακαλεῖ, οἷονεὶ
προγάμιόν τινα ὑμέναιον ἀναμέλψας. ὅταν δὲ τὰ
τῆς ἀφροδισίου σπουδῆς τελέσωσι μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων
ὄργια, ἡ μὲν ἐπί τε τὰ κύματα καὶ τὴν θάλατταν
ὥρμησεν, ὁ δὲ ἀναρροφήσας τὸν ἰὸν αὖθις ἐς τὰ
ἤθη τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐπάνεισιν.

ΝΥ Eee BESET ΝΣ Ἐν τροξσαα
REALE TSIEN ρου κε τς ere ee net evan ee a8 tame

1 > ~ ς
ἐκ τῆς. 2 ὡς πρέπει] καὶ πρέπων.

284

285

Se

saunas setae sensi ascii eee titties t ABS AEE EEA SET ΠΣ ἘΣ
i : ge See ae

agectnidcesuzoontnd ELIDA ER Le eee

Naan oA OTP tA NAT NH

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bss ekis ti a 3 =
ΝΥΝ ΜΟΥ ΤΙΣ SEEM EAR CA ΠΟΥ ΧΩ ΖΘ ὙΠ ERENT ee
i

POSES Od NN ED ATMEL ELIZ EDIE ESA IEEE

ὩΣ ΝΣ

I

7 3 ~
1, Σπανίως ἐλέφας ἐρᾷ, φασίν’ ἔστι γὰρ
? , >
σώφρων, ws ἄνω μοι λέλεκται. ἀκούω δ᾽ ody 1
3 ΄
ἐλεφάντων πάθος ἐρωτικόν, καὶ ἄξιον θαυμάσαι
7 o ~
αὐτό. ὃ δὲ πέπυσμαι, ἐκεῖνό ἐστιν. ἀνὴρ τῆς
é 7
τούτων ἄγρας οὐκ ἄπειρος, δύναμιν λαβὼν ἐκ
/ a 6
βασιλέως τοῦ “Ρωμαίων 8 καὶ σταλεὶς ἐπὶ τὴν
7 4 , a
θήραν κατά τι ἔθος τοῖς Μαυρουσίοις ἐπιχώριον,
\ Ed a ὔ
φησὶν ἐν συγγραφῇ νέαν μόσχον ἐλέφαντος ὡραίαν
e > ? ~ “~
ws ἐκείψοις ἰδεῖν συνελθεῖν ἐλέφαντι νέῳ καὶ
ant f **
καλῷ, πρεσβύτερον δὲ ἄλλον, εἴτε ἀνὴρ ἣν εἴτε
3 4 ~ f ¢ s
ἐραστὴς τῆς προειρημένης, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀτιμασθέντα
> ΄νὦ “Ὰ 4 /
ἀγανακτῆσαι: θυμῷ yap βιαίῳ ἐξαφθεὶς ὥρμησε
? 3 4 A
μέν," ἐλθὼν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν νέον καὶ καλὸν Kal συμπεσὼν
> > ¢ ς ς 7 “ot
εἶτα ἐμάχετο, ws ὑπέρ τινος ἢ νύμφης ἢ ἐρωμένης
2 ~ ~
ἀλγῶν. καὶ ἐς τοσοῦτον dpa ἀλλήλοις συνήραξαν,"
ς 3 f ~
ws ἀμφοτέροις ζημιωθῆναι τὰ κέρατα. ἐνίκησε
ὃ Α ᾽ὃ “4 LAA \ 3 , 2 2 2 , ¢€
ε οὐδέτερος, ἀλλὰ ἀπέστρεψαν am ἀλλήλων οἱ
Ἁ 7 > “Ἢ
θηραταὶ βάλλοντες, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἀχρεῖοι ὃ τὸ λοιπὸν
iy ~ ¢ 9
ἦσαν τῶν ὅπλων ἀφῃρημένοι. ἐρωτικὴ μὲν δὴ
Ὡ 3 ~ 3 7 ΄ν
μάχη ἐραστῶν ἐλεφάντων ἰσότιμος μέχρι τοῦ
7 > “" μῚ
τέλους ἐνταῦθα ἀνεπαύσατο. εἵλκετο δὲ ὁ Πάρις
1 γοῦν.
2 Ῥ, πάλαι ᾿Αλέξανδρος ὄνομα.
3 4 + 357 , PA
μὲν καὶ ὀλίγου πάντας διέφθειρεν.
4 συνήρραξαν.
5 ἀχρεῖοι συμβαλεῖν.

288

q
᾿
:

» ΤΟΝ 5 ns aaa cbisa srestat noire
τ Ἁ τ UUBASIS ἍὐϑὐθθΊΕἜ Ρὄἔε:ττ-:---τ““““ρῶῶῶζω ΡΟ ΤῸ
ALL a SARABANDE EPIRA ENEMA
toe

BOOK X

Elephant is seldom in love, they say, for, An
Τρ ἐμ And yet ouny

as I have remarked earlier on,* it is sober.
I learn of Elephants experiencing the passion of love,
and the tale is one to excite astonishment. And this
have learnt.

ἡ ewe who had some knowledge of the method of
hunting these animals obtained leave from the
Roman Emperor and set out to hunt them in the
manner of the natives of Mauretania. He tells in
his narrative how he saw a young female Elephant,
comely as Elephants can be, coupling with a lier
and beautiful male, while another older male
(whether it was the husband or the lover of the
aforesaid female) was furious as though it had been
scorned. For inflamed with violent passion 1t rushed
forward and coming up to the young and beautiful
Elephant, fell upon it and began to fight, like a sre
filled with resentment over the conduct of his wi 7
or his mistress. And the two dashed together wit
such force that both damaged their tusks. And
neither was victorious, but the hunters separated

them by hurling missiles at them, for the animals .

| i heir

Ipless as soon as they were deprived of t
aaa So a lovers’ contest between elephant
lovers, equally balanced up to the end, was there
brought to a close. And Paris was being dragged

a See 8. 17.
289

[ἢ

VOL. II.

retr-ecrmimmtiptepmmehvine sine eaaasnasre emote i aor rrueta Ne iar mre rss ores ic yah SRE SATCU CATA NTS TSO

Bas eat Ss SPH PAT PPT RAYA TSE NSIT TNs a ese La

arsceen anvenananoeranete 11 τ
ΣΟΥ
at yee fat

AELIAN

ς κ “- , 1 a . :
ὑπὸ τοῦ Μενέλεω καὶ ἤγχετο τοῦ ἱμάντος αὐχὸν.

7 ΄- 4 “A
πιέζοντος τοῦ ὑπὸ τῷ κράνει,
rd / 3} 7 A
Kal VU κεν εἰρυσσέν TE καὶ ἄσπετον ἤρατο κῦδος

ὁ τοῦ ᾿Ατρέως, εἰ μὴ ἐρρά ἐν 6 ἱμάς, αὐτὸ

> τ WS, εἰ μὴ ἐρράγη μὲν ὁ ἱμάς, αὐτὸν δὲ
ἐξήρπασεν ἡ Διὸς καὶ Διώνης αἰσχίστην μάχην
καὶ ἄνανδρον μεμαχημένον, καὶ ἀπελθὼν 6 δειλὸς
ἐκάθευδε μετὰ τῆς μεμοιχευμένης.

> f 4 id
_ 2. ἰχθύες δὲ ἄρα οὐ ζκατὰν 1 τὴν αὐτὴν ὥραν
id / 9 Ἁ ξ Ou :
ἐς ἀφροδίτην πρόθυμοι, ἀλλὰ οἱ μὲν ἦρος ἐπιθόρνυν-
3 7
Tat, οἱ δὲ θέρειον εἰλήχασι τὴν ὁρμὴν τήνδε, ἐν 3
τῇ ὁπ οὖ LAA A ὃ X\ “~ Can) e ,᾿
ἢ ὁπώρᾳ ἄλλοι, καὶ διὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος ὑπεξάπτον-
ταὶ τινες ἐς τὴν προειρημένην σπουδήν. καὶ of
“~ ate 3} ν
μὲν πλεῖστοι τοῦ ἔτους ἅπαξ ὠδίναντες εἶτα
7 4 >
ay λάβρακα δὲ ἀκούω καὶ ἐπιτίκτειν,
4 \ 2
T ~
τρίγλην δὲ Kal τρὶς κύειν κατηγορεῖ φασι καὶ τὸ
ὄνομα.

_ 9. ᾿Ηρόδοτος λέγει. τὰς καμήλους ἐν τοῖς
ὄπισθεν σκέλεσιν (ἔχειν ὃ τέτταρας * μηροὺς
καὶ μέντοι καὶ γόνατα τοσαῦτα, τὰ δὲ ἄρθρα διὰ
τῶν σκελῶν τῶν κατόπιν πρὸς ὅ τὴν οὐρὰν
τετράφθαι αὐταῖς.

Ἁ Ψ ‘ 2 ,ὔ 3, > 3
4. Τὰς οἷς τὰς Ἀραβίων ἔχειν οὐρὰς ἀήθεις ὡς
πρὸς τὰς ἄλλας Ἡρόδοτος λέγει. γένη δὲ αὐτῶν
cans > 4 ΄Ζ
εἶναι διπλᾶ ὁ αὐτὸς δήπου διδάσκει, καὶ μέντοι καὶ 5
\ 2 κ᾿ ‘4
λέγει τὰς μὲν αὐτῶν ἔχειν οὐρὰς μηκίστας, ds
1 <xaré> add. Η. 2 συν.

3 »
. (ἔχειν) add. Ges. 4 Ges: re παρά.
ἐς. 8 καὶ τοῦτο καί.

290

ON ANIMALS, X. 1-4

along by Menelaus and was being throttled by the

thong that was pressing him beneath his helmet, and
the son of Atreus

‘would now have haled him away and won
yenown unspeakable ’ [Hom. JU. 3. 373},

' ᾿ had not the thong snapped, and had not the daughter

of Zeus and Dione (i.e. Aphrodite) snatched him away
after his most shameful and unmanly fight: and he
departed, the coward, and slept with the adulteress.

season for

2. It appears that Fish are not eager for sexual Mating

intercourse at the same season, but some couple in Fishes

spring, others feel the urge in summer, others in the
autumn, in others again the aforesaid desire is
gradually kindled during the winter. The majority
after giving birth once a year, cease; though I am
told that the Basse gives birth twice, whereas the
very name of the Red Mullet (τρίγλη) proves, so
they say, that it does so thrice.

3. Herodotus states [3. 103] that Camels have
four thigh-bones in their hind-legs, and the same
number also of knees, but that their genitals be-
tween their hind-legs are turned in the direction of

the tail.

4. Herodotus states [3. 118] that the Sheep of
Arabia have tails of abnormal length compared with
other sheep. And the same writer informs us that
there are two kinds of Sheep, adding that one kind

Ἵ 201

Anatomy of
the Oamel

The Sheep
of Arabia

paterson eT tte et etre eT ee ee SHO TT eee πο ποποτιπσς ποτ τουτουτοινοη

gates rete reno eee RPI δας CNN MATRA UTI rete

AELIAN

εἶναι μετρήσαντι καὶ τριῶν πήχεων 1 οὐκ ἐλάττους.
ἅσπερ οὖν εἰ ἐῴη τις ἐπισύρειν, ἑλκοῦσθαι ἂν
αὐτὰς πάντως παρατριβομένας πρὸς τὸ δάπεδον.
τοὺς νομέας δὲ εἶναι ἀγαθοὺς χειρουργεῖν οὐ πέρα 3
τῶν ἁμαξίδων, αἱ 8 ὑπερείδουσι τὰς οὐρὰς τῶνδε
τῶν κτηνῶν, ὥστε ἀποστέγειν τὴν ἕλκωσιν αὐταῖς.

\ \ > A
τὰς δὲ ols τὰς ἑτέρας φησὶ πλατείας φορεῖν,.
,ὔ

πλατύνεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἐς πῆχυν αὐτάς.

5. Ot κοχλίαι ἴσασιν εἶναί σῴφισι πολεμίους
τοὺς πέρδικας καὶ τοὺς ἐρῳδιούς, καὶ αὐτοὺς
ἀποδιδράσκουσιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἴδοις ἔνθα οὗτοι νέμονται
κοχλίας διέρποντας. οἱ δὲ καλούμενοι τῶν κοχλιῶν
ἀρείονες, οὗτοι μὲν καὶ ἀπατῶσι καὶ περιέρχονταί
τινι φυσικῇ σοφίᾳ τοὺς προειρημένους. τῶν γὰρ
συμφυῶν ὀστράκων προελθόντες αὐτοὶ μὲν νεμονται
κατὰ πολλὴν τὴν ἄδειαν, οἱ δὲ ὄρνιθες οὗς εἶπον
ἐπὶ τὰ κενὰ τῶν ὀστράκων Ws ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους
καταπέτονται, οὐδὲν δὲ εὑρόντες ἀπέρριψαν ὡς
ἀχρεῖά σφισι καὶ ἀνεχώρησαν: οἱ δὲ ἐπανελθόντες
εἶτα ἕκαστος ἐς 4 τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν παρῆλθε,
κεκορεσμένος μὲν ἐκ τῆς νομῆς, σωθεὶς δὲ ἐξ ἧς
ἠπάτησε πλάνης.

\ ~
6. Ποντικοὶ δὲ dpa κολίαι ὅ τὸν Περσῶν βασιλέα
,ὔ “
μεμίμηνται χειμάζοντα μὲν ἐν Σούσοις, θερίζοντα ὃ
, Ὄ a
ἐ ev "ExBardvois. καὶ yap οὗτοι ἐν μὲν τῇ
᾽ὔ ξ
καλουμένῃ Προποντίδι χειμάζουσιν: ἀλεεινὴ γὰρ
1 πηχῶν MSS always. 2 οὐπεράν.

als ? H. δ' ἧς,
5 Gron: κοχλίαι. :

292

ON ANIMALS, X. 4-6

has tails so long as to measure not less than three

cubits. And if one were to allow the Sheep to trail
their tails after them, they would be full of sores
from rubbing along the ground. All that the shep-
herds can do is to contrive small carts which support
the tails of these animals and prevent them from
getting sore. But the other kind of Sheep, he says,
has broad tails as much as a cubit wide.

5. Snails know that partridges and herons are their Tho ‘Areion’

enemies; so they escape from them, and in places
where these birds feed you would never see snails
crawling about. But the snails which they call
Areiones deceive and elude the aforesaid enemies by
natural astuteness. Thus, they emerge from their
native shells and feed without anxiety, while the
birds which I mentioned swoop upon the empty
shells as though they were the actual snails, but
finding nothing, throw them aside as useless and go
away. But the Areiones return and pass each to its
own house, having eaten their fill of food and having
preserved their lives by their deceptive migration.

8. It seems that the Spanish Mackerel of the The Spanish

Fuxine imitate the Persian King who spends the
winter at Susa and the summer in Ecbatana. For
these fish pass the winter in the Propontis as it is
called, since that region is warm, but in the summer

_
6 Spanheim : θερίζοντα . . . χειμάζοντα.

ν 293

CS RRS ors a cr

3 cette

AELIAN

ἥδε ἡ γῆ" θέρους δὲ πρὸς τῷ Alvord διδυτῆτας
παρέχει γὰρ αὐτοῖς αὔρας μαλακὰς ἡ θάλαττα ἡ
προειρημένη.

7. Πυνθάνομαι τῶν μαγείρων τοὺς τὴν τέχνην

3 ~ 7? ~ “~
ἀκριβοῦντας ὅταν βούλωνται τῶν τριγλῶν τὰς

7 3 / \
κοιλίας ὀπτωμένων μὴ ῥήγνυσθαι, καταφιλεῖν.

be A 7 Ω Ω
αὐτῶν τὰ στόματα: οὗπερ οὖν γεγενημένου ὁλόκλη-
7
ροι διαμένουσιν, ὥς φασιν.

8, “Ὁ deAdis 6 θῆλυς palods ἔχει κατὰ τὰς
γυναῖκας, καὶ θηλάζει τὰ βρέφη πάνυ ἀφθόνῳ καὶ
πολλῷ τῷ γάλακτι. νήχονται δὲ κοινῇ μέν, καθ᾽
ἡλικίαν δὲ διακριθέντες: καὶ τῆς μὲν πρώτης
τετάχαται οἱ νέοι καὶ ἁπαλοί, ἕπονται δὲ αὐτῶν
τῇ νήξει οἱ τέλειοι. φιλότεκνον γὰρ καὶ φιλόστορ-
γον ὁ δελφὶς ζῷον, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν βρεφῶν ὀρρωδεῖ.
καὶ φυλακῆς χάριν ὡς ἐν φάλαγγι στρατιωτικῇ οἱ
μὲν τῆς πρώτης εἰσίν, οἱ δὲ τῆς δευτέρας, οἱ δὲ
τῆς τρίτης" καὶ προνήχονται μὲν οἱ νέοι; ἐπινήχον-
ται δὲ αἱ θήλειαι, καὶ ot ἄρρενες οὐραγοῦσιν
ἐφορῶντές τε καὶ παραφυλάττοντες τὴν τῶν
ἐκγόνων τε καὶ τῶν γαμετῶν νῆξιν. τί πρὸς
ταῦτα ὁ Νέστωρ, ὦ καλὲ Ὅμηρε, ὅνπερ οὖν ἄδεις
τακτικώτατον τῶν ἡρώων τῶν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν γεγο-
νέναι;

9. Ἔχιν ἐχίδνης οὗ μὲν τῷ γένει. διαφέρειν, οὐ
μέντοι τῇ φύσει φασί: τὸν μὲν γὰρ εἶναι ἄρρενα,
τὴν δὲ θήλειαν. οἱ δὲ καὶ τῇ φύσει διαφέρειν
οἴονται: ἀλλοῖον μὲν γὰρ τοῦτο εἶναι ζῷον,
ἀλλοῖον δὲ ἐκεῖνο. ἀκούω δέ τινων λεγόντων τοὺς
294

ON ANIMALS, Χ. 6-9

they live about Aegialus,? because the first-named
sea affords them gentle breezes.

7. Lam informed that when Cooks who are masters Cooking a

of their art wish the stomachs of Red Mullets not to
burst in the cooking, they kiss their mouths. And if
this is done the fish are preserved whole, so they say.

8. The female Dolphin has breasts like a woman The ic
and suckles its young with a liberal and copious Oune

supply of milk. And they swim in a body, but
separated according to age. In the front rank are
yanged the young and tender, after them swim the
full-grown ones. The Dolphin loves its offspring and
is an affectionate creature, anxious for its children,
and in order to protect them, as with soldiers in line
of battle, some are with the front rank, others with
the second, others with the third. The young ones
swim in front, after them swim the females, and the
males bring up the rear while they superintend and
guard closely their offspring and their wives as they
swim. What, O noble Homer, would Nestor say
to this—Nestor, whom you celebrate as the best
tactician among all the heroes of his day? [Cp. Hom.
Il. 2. 555; 4. 293-309.]

9. Some maintain that the difference between the The Viper

Echis and the Echidna is one of sex and not of kind,
the former being the male viper, the latter the
female. Others however consider that the differ-
ence is one of kind, and that the latter belongs to one
species and the former to another. And I hear

« Town on the coast of Paphlagonia.
ts ;

295

φεντναουοσενέσ,ρς,

ARLIAN ON ANIMALS, X. 9-10

rece ted eg ote LARD AEE EARP NE

~gome say that those who have been bitten by the
Echis are seized with convulsions, whereas victims
of the Echidna are not. But others assert that the
pite caused by the Echidna is white, unlike that of
the Echis which is livid. And Nicander says [Th.
931] that in the bite which the Echis implants traces

of two fangs are visible, but more if it is an Echidna
that has bitten.

μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔχεως δηχθέντας σπᾶσθαι, οὐ μὴν
τοὺς ὑπὸ τῆς ἐχίδνης. ἕτεροι δέ φασι τὸ μὲν τῆς
ἐχίδνης δῆγμα εἶναι λευκόν, τὸ δὲ τοῦ ἔχεως οὐ
τοιοῦτον, πελιδνὸν δέ. Νίκανδρος δέ φησιν ἐκ μὲν
τοῦ δήγματος ὅπερ οὖν 6 ἔχις ἐμφύει δύο ὀδόντων,
ἴχνη φαίνεσθαι: πλειόνων δέ, εἰ δάκοι ἡ ἔχιδνα.

10. Εὐθηρίας γενομένης ἐλεφάντων + οἷα δρῶσιν
ἐς τὸ mpatval τε αὐτοὺς καὶ ἡμερῶσαι εἰπεῖν
ἄξιον. πρῶτον μὲν ἐς ὕλην τινὰ ὀλίγον ἀφεστῶσαν
τῆς τάφρου ἐν ἡ ἐθήρασαν ἄγουσιν αὐτοὺς δεδεμέ-
νους, διαλαβόντες 3 ταῖς σχοΐνοις καὶ μήτε προθεῖν
ἐπιτρέποντες μήτε αὖ πάλιν ἀφίστασθαι καὶ
ἀποσπᾶν ἐς τοὐπίσω: εἶτα ἕκαστον ἐξάψαντες
μεγίστου δένδρου μεμετρημένῳ διαστήματι, ὡς
μήτε ἐς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπιπηδᾶν ἔχειν μήτε ἐπὶ
πολὺ πάλιν ἀναχωρεῖν τοῦ σκιρτᾶν καὶ ὑβρίζειν
ἐξουσίᾳ, ἀτροφίᾳ τε καὶ λιμῷ τὴν ἄγαν ἰσχὺν καὶ
ῥώμην καθαιροῦσι, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν θυμὸν
αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἄτρεπτον ἡσυχῆ κατα-
μαραίνουσιν, ὡς ἐκείνους λήθην μὲν ἴσχειν τῆς
τέως ἀμάχου ἀγριότητος, παραλύεσθαι δὲ τοῦ πρό-
σθεν θυμοῦ. προσιέναι τε τοὺς τῶν τοιούτων πω-
λευτὰς καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς ὀρέγειν τροφήν, τοὺς δὲ ὑπὸ
τῆς χρείας ἀναγκαζομένους λαμβάνειν καὶ μὴ
κακουργεῖν, βλέπειν τε ἤδη πρᾶόν τε καὶ κεκμηκός.
οἱ δὲ ἄγαν αὐτῶν ἰσχυροὶ καὶ τέλειοι ἀπορρήξαντες
τὰ δεσμὰ καὶ ταῖς ἀκμαῖς τῶν κεράτων καὶ ταῖς
προβοσκίσιν ἀνασπῶντες τὰ δένδρα, τὰ δὲ καὶ

10. It is worth relating what men do after a Taming an
successful Elephant-hunt to rake the creatures“?
docile and tame. First of all they lead them away
pound into a wood a little distance from the trench
ἴὰ which they have captured them, keeping them
apart by ropes and not allowing them either to run
forward or to stop and pull back. Next they fasten
each beast to a very large tree ata measured distance
from the next one so that they can neither spring
forward nor retreat backwards to any extent through
being free to leap about and. work mischief. And
by refusing them food and by starvation they drain
away their excessive strength and power, and
gradually reduce their spirit and their inflexible
determination, so that they forget their hitherto

πο ΡΥ ἘΣΘ arse Ie διε ζω ας, ἀρούρης δ tee

PAE ENTE SEES LG si i τ ͵ ται τ τους eaten κακησσες
Beh elias ΝΎ τ τ ΠΤ -

‘ndomitable fierceness and abandon their former |
temper. The keepers of these animals go up to.
them and offer them food from their hands, and the
Elephants under stress of need take it and do the
men no harm, and already begin to wear a mild and
fatigued expression. But those that are extremely
powerful and full-grown, after bursting their bonds
and tearing up trees with the points of their tusks
1 καὶ τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἑαλωκότων. and with their trunks, even smashing some by their
2 πολὺ διαλαβόντες.

290

: 297

<tr retreaermmteccs tate iene mer τσ σ΄ eet ie TS

re TT a NT ES wiasorieenenerteraanad tine sinnnenncaderesnnis
τ TT a οι -πππρουνο

AELIAN

κατάξαντες ; ὑπὸ ῥύμης καὶ ἐμπεσόντες ἐς αὐτά
μόγις καὶ ὀψὲ τοῦ χρόνου τὰ μὲν λιμῷ, τὰ δὲ
γλυκείᾳ ' τροφῇ, τὰ δὲ κέντροις ἡμερώθησαν
τροφὴ δὲ ἡμερουμένοις τοῖσδε τοῖς ζῴοις ἄρτοι a

4 4 3 ;
οἱ μέγιστοι καὶ κριθαὶ Kat ἰσχάδες Kal ἀσταφίδες.

καὶ κρόμμυα καὶ σκόροδα καὶ μέλι χύδην σχίνου
τε καὶ φοίνικος καὶ κιττοῦ φάκελοι καὶ πᾶν ὅσον
ἐδωδίμου ὕλης καὶ ἐκείνοις συντρόφου καὶ ἐκ
τούτου τοι καὶ φίλης.

4 4 > ,
Al. Φύσεως δὲ ἰχθύων εἰσὶν ἀμαθεῖς ὅσουπερ
> ζ ,
οὖν τελέως ἁπάντων καταψηφίζονται σιωπὴν
αὐτῶν" 3 4 A f _ ἢ A f ἴω,
τῶν Tee τοι συρύττουσι, Tics και γρυλλίζουσι
ὔ : ee / °
ae μὲν γρυλλίζει καὶ χρόμις καὶ κάπρος, ὡς
: . Ἀ 4 ‘
᾿ ριστοτέλης not χαλκεὺς 3 δὲ συρίττει, κόκκυξ
ε apa τὸν ὁμῶὼν i ἢ ἢ :
ρ μώνυμον ὄρνιν τῇ φωνῇ μεμιμημένος
φθέγγεται παραπλήσια.

12. ᾿Ἐλέφας 1 μὲν σαρκῶν ὅ ὄγκος ἐστὶν ἰδεῖν
καὶ πάνυ μέγιστος" ἐδώδιμα δὲ αὐτοῦ τὰ κρέα
οὐκ ἔστιν, ὅτι μὴ ἡ προβοσκὶς καὶ τὰ χείλη τοῦ
στόματος καὶ τῶν κεράτων ὃ μυελός. στέαρ δὲ

ἮΝ 7 ey ΄“
ἐλέφαντος ἦν ἄρα τοῖς ἰοβόλοις ἔχθιστον: εἰ γάρ.

“ Κλ 3 7 "μὰ
τις χρίσαιτο 7 ἐπιθυμιάσειεν αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ ἀποδι-
δράσκει πορρωτάτω.

nm \ 3 / /
As. Τῶν δὲ Ἀραβίων ζῴων ἡ πολύχροιά τε καὶ
4

TO πολύμορφον πάντα γραφικὸν ἐλέγξαι δεινά, καὶ

5 ”~ 3,
Ταῦτα οὐ μόνον τά τε ἄλκιμα καὶ γενναῖα, ἤδη δὲ
ΟΞ κατεάξαντες. ΝΣ
8. Ges: χαλκίς.
5 τῶν σαρκῶν.

2 Ges: σαύρα.
4 Reiske: ἐλέφαντος.

298

ΕΣ ΣΟ ΡΣ zy deh
Ξ ΠΣ ASSET SU A ΣΤΥ ΣΜ ΣΝ ΦΧ SS wists anise betes th
pf S2ER EOD ALAA ISNA ESTES STS SEA IESE USELESS DEEN BEELER LEE ESUUSERL ERE ELLEN NEEDLE EEE SS antes en ΖΣ
DY EST ETRE ΚΣ EEL EN
: .
i Σ Ξ

ON ANIMALS, X. 10-13

onset and by assailing them, have with difficulty
* and only after a long while been tamed sometimes
py starvation sometimes by pleasant food, at other

times by means of goads. While these animals are

: ι being tamed their food consists of very large loaves

of bread, barley, dried figs, raisins, onions, garlic,
honey in large quantities, bundles of mastic
pranches and of palm-leaves and of ivy and any
edible and familiar substance which is for that

reason welcome to them.

11. Those who condemn all fishes without ex- Vocal Fishes
ception to silence are ignorant of their nature,
pecause there are those that whistle and those that
runt. The Gurnard grunts, so too do the Chromis
and the Caprus, as Aristotle says [HA 535 b 17].
The John Dory whistles; the Cuckoo @ (or ‘ Piper ’)
has a voice which resembles that of the bird whose
name it bears and makes a similar sound.

12. To the eye the Elephant is a mass of flesh and Zhe flesh of
ὃ . . 4 < 8

of enormous size, but his flesh is not edible, excepting Elephant

his trunk, the lips of his mouth, and the marrow of

his tusks. But it seems that the fat of an Elephant

is detested by poisonous creatures, for if a man rubs

himself with it or burns some, they flee away to a

sreat distance.

13. The variety of colour and of shape in the fauna The Fauna -
of Arabia might well put anyone skilled in painting
to the test, not only in the case of powerful and

e A kind of Gurnard.
299

a ght hy BARA νος DELETE SOPRA WIE Ley UE,

AELIAN

Kat τὰ ἀδοξότερα, at LKpLO eee |
pa, ab τε ἀκρίδες καὶ ob ὄφεις -

χρυσοειδῇ γοῦν ὃ ἰνδάλματα Kat én” αὐτῶν κατέ.
στικται" ot δὲ ἰχθῦς ἔτι καὶ πλέον τῆς πολυκόσμου
χρόας μετειληχότες εἶτα ἰδεῖν ἐκπληκτικοί εἰσι
καὶ τὰ ὄστρεα δὲ τὰ τῆς ᾿Βρυθρᾶς θαλάττης 8 τῆς
αὐτῆς ἀγλαΐας ἄμοιρα οὐκ ἔστι: ζῶναΐ τε γὰ
περιέρχονται φλογώδεις αὐτά, καὶ φαίης sy

εασάμενος τὴν ἶριν αὐτὰ μιμεῖσθαι τῇ κράσει τῶν
χρωμάτων ἡ γραμμαῖς παραλλήλοις ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως
καταγραφέντα. ὁ ἀδόμενος δὲ παρὰ τοῖς ἀνοήτοις
καὶ ἐν ταῖς γυναιξὶ θαυμαστὸς μαργαρίτης θρέμμα
μέντοι τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάττης καὶ οὗτός ἐστι, καὶ
τίκτεσθαί γε αὐτὸν τερατολογοῦσιν ὅταν ταῖς
κόγχαις ἀνεῳγμέναις ἐπιλάμψωσιν at ἀστραπαί
θηρῶνται δὲ ἄρα αἵδε ai κόγχαι αἱ τῶν προειρημέ-
νων μητέρες εὐημερίας τε οὔσης καὶ τῆς θαλάττης
λείας" οἱ δὲ θηραταὶ συλλαβόντες εἶτα ἐξεῖλον
τοῦτον δὴ τὸν θέλγοντα τὰς τῶν μάχλων ψυχάς.
εὑρεθείη ὃ ἂν καὶ ἐν κόγχῃ μεγίστῃ μικρὸς καὶ
ἐν μικρᾷ μέγας" καὶ ἡ μὲν οὐδένα ἔχει, ἡ δὲ οὐ
πέρα ἑνός, πολλαὶ δὲ καὶ πολλούς: εἰσὶ δὲ of
λέγουσι καὶ εἴ 3 Nees

youot καὶ εἴκοσι προσπεφυκέναι μιᾷ κόγχῃ.
καὶ ἡ μὲν κόγχη τὸ κρέας ἐστίν, ἐπιπέφυκε δὲ ἄρα
ὡς σκόλο ταῦτα. πρὸ καιροῦ δὲ καὶ τῆς ὠδῖνος
τῆς ἐντελοῦς εἴπερ οὖν ἀνοίξειέ τις τὰς κόγχας
κρέας μὲν ἂν εὕροι, τῆς δὲ θήρας τὸ ἀγώ et

> v , ΔΛ » € otis cae
οὐχ ἕξει. λίθῳ δὲ ἄρα ὁ μαργαρίτης ἔοικε πεπωρω-
μένῳ, καὶ ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ στέγειν ὑγρὸν οὐ
πέφυκεν οὐδὲ ὀλίγον. δοκοῦσι δὲ ἄρα τοῖς τούτων

1 ἀδοξότερα,...

ζγῶρν ἀκρίδες H.
2 Gow: οὖν uss, del. Η.

. ὄφεις : 80 Gow punctuates, ἀδοξότερα. aire

300

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ον seb ertepesinaveantrivg es «

ON ANIMALS, X. 13

noble animals but even of the more insignificant, the
locusts and the snakes; for the markings on them
look like gold. The fish, which enjoy an even more
richly wrought colouring, are an astonishing sight.
And the oysters in the Red Sea are not without the
same glamour, for they are encircled with rings of
fiery hue, and to look at them you would say that
with the blending of their colours they were copying
the rainbow, Nature having painted parallel stripes
upon them.
fools and admired by women, is also a nursling of
the Red Sea, and they tell a marvellous story of how
it is produced when lightning flashes upon the open
shells. So then these shells which are the mothers
of the aforesaid pearls are sought for when the
weather is fine and the sea smooth. And the
seekers collect them and extract this object which
delights the hearts of the luxurious. One may find
a small pearl even in the largest shell and a large
one in a small shell; and this one contains none, and
that not more than one, and many contain a number.
Some assert that as many as twenty have been
attached to a single shellfish. Now the shell is the:
flesh, and these pearls cling to it like a thorn.
if one were to open the shell prematurely, that is
before the birth-process is complete, one would find
the flesh indeed, but it will not contain the object of
one’s quest. The pearl, it seems, is like a stone
produced by petrifaction, and it is not its nature to
contain or to admit even a drop of moisture.

i .-ὀ0ὸ|ὸἰῤ-΄--ο.λὗρ-----ς--ς--ς-ς--

8 βαλάσσης ἥπερ οὖν ἐστιν ὁ ᾿Ἀράβιος.
~ ,ὕ

4 σῶν ποικίλων x.

5 rob évds.

a
rd

301

peg hese HES et SNES ncn ae SRT NL

‘But

And the pearl, so celebrated among The Pearl

In the:

“pe Se ests SSIES PSS LE DOREY EDEL LORIE ABEND SOE MITAAN NERD eS

se cewawges

mesa: eS NL Ta ee eS -
NENA τε στ τσ τος eee eT ἀλλ αμλ χα LRT”

AELIAN

καπήλοις καὶ τοῖς ὠνουμένοις of ἄγαν λευκοὶ καὶ
οἱ μεγάλοι κάλλιστοι καὶ τιμαλφέστατοι,} καὶ
πλούσιοί γε ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐγένοντο οὐ μὰ Δία ὀλίγοι
οἷς ἐντεῦθέν ἐστιν 6 βίος. οὐκ ἀγνοῶ δὲ οὐδὲ
ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι ἄρα ἐξαιρεθέντων τῶν λίθων τῶνδε
ἀφείθησαν αὖθις αἱ κόγχαι, οἱονεὶ λύτρα δοῦσαι
τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας τὸ σπούδασμα τὸ προειρημέ-
νον," εἶτα ὑπανέφυσαν 8 αὖθις αὐτό. ἐὰν δὲ ὅν
ζῷον τὸ τρέφον αὐτὸν πρὶν ἢ ἐξαιρεθῆναι τὸ
μαργαρίτην ἀποθάνῃ, ὥς που λέ λό =
αρί; ν yeu τις λόγος, τῇ
σαρκί μέντοι συσσήπεται καὶ ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἀπόλλυται
φύσει δὲ ἔχει τῆς περιφερείας τὸ λεῖον καὶ εὐπερί-
γραφον. εἰ δὲ ἐθέλοι τις τῶν πεφυκότων ἑτέρως
τινὰ σοφίας τέχνῃ περιγράψαι τε καὶ λεῖον
ἀποφῆναι τὸν λίθον, ὁ δὲ ἐλέγχει τὴν ἐπιβουλήν.
οὐ γὰρ πείθεται, τραχύτητας δὲ ὑπαναφύει, καὶ
ort apa ἐπιβεβούλευται ἐς κάλλος κατηγορεῖ ταύτῃ
ῃ.

14, Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν ἱέρακα ᾿Απόλλωνι τιμᾶν
ἐοίκασι, καὶ τὸν μὲν θεὸν “Qpov καλοῦσι τῇ
φωνῇ τῇ σφετέρᾳ, τοὺς δὲ ὄρνιθας ἀγόηδι Ὁ
αυμαστούῦς, καὶ προσήκειν τῷ θεῷ τῷ προει-
ρημένῳ φασὶν ὀρθῶς: of γὰρ ἱέρακες. ὀρνίθων
μόνοι ταῖς ὃ ἀκτῖσι τοῦ ἡλίου ῥᾳδίως καὶ ἀβα-
σανίστως ἀντιβλέποντες ἴ καὶ δυσωπούμενοι ἥκιστα
πορείαν τε τὴν ἀνωτάτω ἴασι, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἡ θεία
φλὸξ λυπεῖ οὐδὲ ἕν. καὶ ἀνάπαλιν μέντοι πέτεσθαι
τὸν ἱέρακα οἱ ἰδόντες φασὶν ὡς ἐξ ὑπτίας νέοντα
ἔνθεν ὃ τοι καὶ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁρᾷ καὶ πρὸς κὸν
1 σιμαλφέστατοι ὥστε ἐκείνοις κρίνειν αὐτούς.

2 1 “ἢ
» = Be a ° ἐπανέφυσαν.
: λέγουσι. 5 ὀρθῶς" of] ὁρῶσι.

392

SS ἐργάνθα arden cee αν ἀπμαϑελλῷφλ 12 EES = 98 08 02 OE TANT ESR
1 FBR ETI A EISLER SLES OLDE ἘΣ ΟΣ

ΡΥ

TEES STII

A SUE ERTS VEEN L FESS SR oc 5
ACES AAA GROSE Af MACUL SAR EEN SES ASC CASA RY a BE DISEASED EMESIS OI SERED SSE NY REID DAA δ δοηοι Sil SALES ISLE ESI SSSSULESLON ESERIES HCD TRLAE BEA =< ee
εορμευνθλιεθεθητή SD ESI LURES IEE YELLE CSL ERYEN DU DY NESDIS

ON ANIMALS, X. 13-14

opinion of those who trade in pearls and those who
buy them pearls that are pure white and large are
the most beautiful and the most highly esteemed,
and I can avow that many of those who make a
livelihood by them have become wealthy. And I
ain also well aware that when these stones have been
extracted and the shellfish have been released after
giving up the aforesaid coveted object as ransom for
their lives, they have gradually produced another
one. If however the animal that fosters the pearl
dies before the pearl is extracted, as is sometimes
reported, both pear! and flesh rot away and perish.
It has a naturally smooth and well-rounded contour,
put if a man should want by artificial means to make
yound and smooth some stone not naturally so, the
pearl confounds his design, for it declines to yield
and develops roughnesses, thereby denouncing the
plot that has been laid to secure its beauty.

τ το ΝΘ.

14. The Egyptians appear to regard the Hawk as The Hawk

sacred to Apollo, calling the god ‘ Horus ’ in their
own language, and they regard the birds with
wonder and are right in saying that they belong to
the aforesaid god. For Hawks are the only birds
that can face with ease and without pain the rays of
the sun and are not the least dazzled; and while.
they fly at an immense height the divine fire does

‘not trouble them at all. Moreover observers say

that the Hawk flies upside down, like a man swim-
ming on his back, and in this way, you see, it looks

8 ἀεὶ ἐν ταῖς. . 7 βλέποντες.
8 ἔγθα,

᾿ 303

cee

AELIAN

πάντ᾽ ἐφορῶντα «Ἥλιον» 1 μάλα ἐλευθέρως

τάντ ρ tov» + μάλα ἐλευθέρως καὶ

ἀτρέπτως 6 αὐτός. ὅ 22 καὶ Ἢ

ay , ὁ αὐτός. ὄφεων δὲ καὶ δακετῶν

Meer ἐστιν ἐχθιστος. οὐκ ἂν γοῦν αὐτὸν
3 +

ἰαλάθοι οὔτε ὄφις οὔτε σκορπίος οὔτε μὴν

a Φ ΒΩ 27
πονηρᾶς ὕλης ἄλλο τι ἔκτοκον. ἀκροδρύων μὲν

οὖν καὶ σπερμάτων ἄγευστος, σαρκῶν δὲ ἥδεται
βορᾷ, καὶ πίνει αἷμα, καὶ τὰ νεόττια ἐκτρέφει τοῖς
αὐτοῖς, καὶ (ἐς) ὦ λαγνείαν ἐστὶ δριμύτατος. τὸ
δὲ αὐτοῦ τῆς κνήμης ὀστοῦν εἰ χρυσίῳ παρατεθείη
ἕλκει τε αὐτὸ καὶ ἴυγγι ἀπορρήτῳ τινὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸ
ἄγει καὶ ἕπεσθαι θέλγει, ὥσπερ οὖν ἄδουσι τὸν
Ἡρακλεώτην λίθον καταγοητεύειν πως τὸν σίδη-
ie lial δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἐς πεντακόσια ἔτη
age οήκειν τὸν ἱέρακα, καὶ οὔπω με πείθουσιν'
a setae ἔοικε δέ φασι καὶ Ὅμηρος
τ το : "ΩΣ καὶ Λητοῦς ἐστι φίλος ὑπαινίττεσθαί

~ ὃ 4 3 3 ? > # tid
βῆ δὲ κατ Ἰδαίων ὁρέων, ἴρηκι ἐοικὼς
ὠκέι φασσοφόνῳ.ὅ

& 4. fy v
oy pat ance ΜΔ... c @ov ἐστι, σπείρει δὲ ἐς
γὴν ὁ ut ὀκτὼ δὲ Kal εἴκοσιν
ἡμερῶν τοῦτο δράσας καὶ θάλψας αὐτήν, εἶτα
ithe TH ἐπὶ ταύταις προάγει τὸν νεοττόν
Αἰγυπτίων δὲ οἱ μάχιμοι ἐπὶ τῶν δακτυλίων εἶχον
ἐγγεγλυμμένον κάνθαρον, αἰνιττομένου τοῦ νομοθέ-
του, δεῖν ἄρρενας εἶναι πάντως πάντῃ τοὺς μαχομέ-
vous ὑπὲρ τῆς χώρας, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὃ κάνθαρος θηλείας
ὕσεως οὐ μετείληχεν.

1 «Ἥλιον add. Η. 2 χε
᾿ .
6 αὐτός ἐστιν. 2. (ἐς) add. Ges

304

|
᾿

ON ANIMALS, X. 14-15

at the sky and the all-surveying sun with complete
freedom and without flinching. It is the bitter
enemy of snakes and venomous creatures. At any
rate no snake, no scorpion, nor indeed any other
product of noxious matter would escape its notice.
Fruits and seeds it will not touch; it delights to feed
on flesh and drinks blood, and on these it feeds its
young; it is also passionate in lechery. If the bone
from its tibia is put beside gold it attracts and draws
it to itself by some inexplicable fascination, persuad-
ing it to follow even as, they say, the stone of
Heraclea * somehow bewitches iron. The Egyptians
assert that the Hawk’s life extends to as much as
five hundred years, and they do not convince me: i
merely report what I have heard. Homer, they say,
seems to hint that the Hawk is beloved of the child
of Zeus and Leto (i.e. Apollo) when he says [1].
15. 237] :

‘ And down the hills of Ida he went, like unto a
swift hawk, the slayer of doves.’ |

15. The Scarab is a creature of which there is no’ The Scarab
female, but it pours its semen into the heap ὃ which -

it rolls up. After doing this and keeping the heap
warm for eight-and-twenty days, on the following
day it brings forth its young. Among the Egyptians.
the fighting class wore a Scarab engraved on their
finger-rings, their ruler intimating thereby that those
who fight for their country must at all costs and in
every way be men, because the Scarab has in it
nothing of the feminine element.
«α The magnet. > Of dung.
nnn -'’---'.-ς----
8 φασσοφόνῳ 6 ᾿Απόλλων αὐτός. ᾿

w 3905

eczema Fs ASSESSES SOT
scart re ere ements ene SAAT

sy pes err TST re NT ONSTAR Ca ICT
SC τ τον τος ποτ

ἐν κα ϑ ον ὸ Δο στ σου συκ κύνας στ athe σα

2 EES

iw

AELIAN

; 16. Ἢ ὗς καὶ τῶν ἰδίων τέκνων ὑπὸ τῆς
αιμαργίας ἀφειδῶς ἔχει, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἀνθρώπου
σώματι ἐντυχοῦσα οὐκ ἀπέχεται, ἀλλ’ ἐσθίει
ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ἐμίσησαν Αἰγύπτιοι τὸ ξῷον ὡς
μυσαρὸν καὶ πάμβορον. φιλοῦσι δὲ οἱ φρόνιμοι
καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ πραότερα καὶ φειδοῦς ἅμα καὶ
εὐσεβείας μετειληχότα προτιμᾶν. Αἰγύπτιοι γοῦν
τοὺς πελαργοὺς καὶ προσκυνοῦσιν, ἐπεὶ τοὺς
πατέρας γηροκομοῦσιν καὶ ἄγουσι διὰ τιμῆς. οἱ
αὐτοὶ δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ χηναλώπεκας καὶ ἔποπας
τιμῶσιν, ἐπεὶ οὗ μὲν φιλότεκνοι αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ πρὸς
τοὺς γειναμένους εὐσεβεῖς. ἀκούω δὲ καὶ Μανέ-
θωνα τὸν Αἰγύπτιον σοφίας ἐς ἄκρον ἐληλακότα
ἄνδρα εἰπεῖν ὅτι γάλακτος ὑείου 6 γευσάμενος
ἀλφῶν ὑποπίμπλαται καὶ λέπρας: μισοῦσι δὲ ἄρα
οἱ Ασιανοὶ πάντες τάδε τὰ πάθη. πεπιστεύκασι
δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι τὴν ὗν καὶ ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ ἐχθίστην
εἶναι. ὅταν οὖν 1 πανηγυρίζωσι ὃ τῇ σελήνῃ, θύου-
σιν αὐτῇ ἅπαξ τοῦ ἔτους ὗς, ἄλλοτε δὲ οὔτε ἐκείνῃ
οὔτε ἄλλῳ τῳ τῶν θεῶν τόδε τὸ ζῶον ἐθέλουσι
θύειν. ᾿Αθηναῖοι δὲ ἐν τοῖς μυστηρίοις κατα-
θύουσι τὰς ὗς καὶ μάλα δικαίως: Avpaivovras yd
{τὰν * λήια, καὶ ἐσπηδή Ἵ ar
Ta)” Ania, καὶ ἐσπηδήσασαι πολλάκις τοὺς μὲν
“νέους " τῶν ἀσταχύων καὶ οὐδέπω ὡραίους
κατακλῶσι, τοὺς δὲ ἐξορύττουσιν. Ἐϊὔδοξος δέ
φησι φειδομένους τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους τῶν ὑῶν μὴ
ὕειν αὐτάς, ἐπεὶ τοῦ σίτου σπαρέντος ἐπάγουσι
τὰς ἀγέλας αὐτῶν. at δὲ πατοῦσι ὃ καὶ ἐς ὑγρὰν
~ ta
ue si ric ae μείνῃ ἔμβιος Kal μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν
1 Reiske: δέ.
8 θύειν ὡς μυσαρόν.

306

4 Anat
Αἰγύπτιοι παν-.

4 <rd> add. Ges.

v COREG ἘΣΎ τας Σ fe Disa. , di = αὐδῶ Wes, "ἢ ἜΡΟΝ
eS EU EASE eh UMS ΠΣ IE AEE OCALA IE ADELE EEN LDA ENE LAMELLAE eet ei hs NARI NERA { Γ77ὕ
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ON ANIMALS, X. 16

16. The Pig in sheer gluttony does not spare even The Fig in

its own young; moreover if it comes across a man’s

᾿ βοᾶν it does not refrain from eating it. That is why

the Egyptians detest the animal as polluted and
omnivorous. And sober men are accustomed to
prefer those animals which are of a gentler nature
and have some sense of restraint and reverence. At
any rate the Egyptians actually worship Storks,
because they tend and respect their parents in old
age; and these same Egyptians pay honour to
vulpansers and hoopoes, because the former are fond
of their offspring, and the latter show reverence to
their parents. And I learn that Manetho the
Egyptian, a man who attained the very summit of
knowledge, says that one who has tasted of sow’s
milk becomes covered with leprosy and scaly
eruptions. And all the peoples of Asia loathe these
diseases. And the Egyptians are convinced that

the Sow is an abomination to the sun and the moon. .

Accordingly when they hold the festival of the moon
they sacrifice Pigs to her once a year, but at no other
seasons are they willing to sacrifice them either to
her or to any other god. But the Athenians sacrifice
Sows at the Mysteries and very properly, for they

ruin the crops and frequently by trampling upon the

new ears of corn break some before they are ripe
and uproot others. But Eudoxus asserts that the

Egyptians refrain from sacrificing Sows, because
when the corn has been sown they drive in herds of

them, and they tread and press the seed into the soil
when moist so that it may remain fertile and not be
consumed by the birds.

nr

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5 κενοῦσι. 6 πατοῦσι τοὺς πυροῦς.
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307

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AELIAN

11. ᾿Αποσπώμενοι τῆς συνή |

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τῷ ποικίλῳ αὐτῶν, ὃ > pi. Ὁ πεν
f Ὁ αὐτῶν, ὅμως TO φίλτρον τῆς θρεψαμέ-

ν 7 ΕΣ “Ἢ 3 “
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e
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ἤδη . τινες καὶ κλάοντες ἀστακτὶ καὶ ἀμέτροις
> ’ ᾿
ae ακρύοις ἐπηρώθησαν τὴν ὄψιν. ἐσάγονται
€ ΄.
ἐς τὰς ναῦς διὰ γεφύρας, παρ᾽ ἑκάτερα αὐτῇ
κλάδων τεθηλό ἱ J 1
sae ἡλότων καὶ κομώντων πηγνυμένων 1
ἐν ᾿ Ans ὕλης χλωρᾶς διατεινομένης ἐς ἀπάτην
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ao iy d :

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ὗκο τάκλι
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1 Jac: μιγνυμένων.
308

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ON ANIMALS, X. 17-19

17. Elephants when withdrawn from the country The

to which they are accustomed, though tamed at first eee ne

by captivity and hunger and after that by food and
a varied diet, nevertheless do not erase from their
memory the spell of the country that fostered them.
At any rate the majority die of grief, and some have
actually lost their sight through the floods of tears
past measuring which they have shed. And they
are brought on board ships by means of a bridge on
either side of which boughs fresh and in full leaf
have been fixed, together with other greenery that
extends the whole length in order to deceive the
beasts. For if the Elephants see these things they
imagine that they are still walking on firm ground,
and this verdure does not allow the sea to be visible.
But the water close to the shore from which they must
sail is shallow and not deep, and the cargo-vessels
are some distance out. That is why there is need
of the bridge and the device of a ruse contrived with

the boughs and greenery aforesaid.

18. I have heard that the Ram during the six The Ram

months of winter lies down upon its left side, and
sleeps so whenever sleep overtakes and constrains it.
But after the spring equinox it rests in the reverse
position and lies upon its right side. So at each
equinox the Ram changes its way of lying down.

19. The inhabitants of Syene regard the Phagrus ὦ
as sacred, and those who dwell in Elephantine, as it

α Thompson (Gk. fishes, p. 274) points out that φάγρος here
cannot be the Sea-bream of 9. 7 (i).
ον a eee

3 <odu> add. Ges. 4 μὲν Αἰγυπτίων.

309

The Phagrus
and the
Maeotes

AELIAN

᾿Ελεφαντίνην τοὺς μαιώτας: φῦλον δὲ dpa καὶ
τοῦτο ἰχθύων. 4 δὲ ἐς ἑκάτερον τὸ γένος ἐξ
ἀμφοτέρων τιμὴ τὴν γένεσιν εἴληφεν ἐντεῦθεν.
ἀνιέναι τε καὶ ἀναπλεῖν τοῦ Νείλου μέλλοντος οἱ

\ , / ‘ ? ~
de προθέουσί τε Kal νήχονται, οἷονεὶ τοῦ νέου.

ὕδατος ἄγγελοι, καὶ τὰς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀνηρτημέ-
νας γνώμας προευφραίνουσι καλαῖς ἐλπίσι, τὴν
ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ ῥεύματος πρῶτοι συνιέντες καὶ
θαυμαστῇ τινι φύσει προμαντευόμενοι ἐκεῖνοί γε.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐς αὐτοὺς τιμῆς φιλοῦσι
προστιθέναι οἱ προειρημένοι, λέγοντες αὐτοὺς
διαμένειν ἀλλήλων ἀγεύστους.

20. Τίονται δὲ ἄρα ἐν τῇ ᾿Ερυθρᾷ θαλάττῃ
κόγχαι καὶ ἕτεραι, οὐ λεῖαι τὰ ὄστρακα, ἀλλὰ
ἔχουσαί τινας ἐντομὰς καὶ κοιλάδας. ὀξεῖαι δὲ
αὗται τὰ χείλη εἰσί, καὶ συνιοῦσαι ἐς ἀλλήλας
ἐμπίπτουσι, παραλλὰξ ἐντιθεῖσαι τὰς ἐξοχάς, ὡς
δοκεῖν δύο πριόνων 1 τοὺς κυνόδοντας ἐς ἀλλήλους
συνέρχεσθαι. οὐκοῦν τῶν ἁλιέων ὅτου ἂν νηχομέ-
vou λάβωνται καὶ δάκωσιν 6 τι οὖν μέρος, ἀποκόπ-
τουσιν, εἰ καὶ ὀστοῦν ὑπείη τῷ μέρει τῷ δηχθέντι,
καὶ κατὰ ἄρθρου μέντοι δακοῦσαι καὶ τοῦτο
ἀπέκοψαν, καὶ εἰκότως. τομώτατον γάρ ἐστι τὸ

δῆγμα.

21. Τοὺς κῥοκοδίλους Αἰγυπτίων οἱ μὲν σέβου-
σιν, ὡς ᾿Ομβιἔται- καὶ οἷα ἡμεῖς τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς
Ὀλυμπίους ἄγομεν θαυμαστούς, τοιαῦτα καὶ
ἐκείνους ἐκεῖνοι. καὶ τῶν τέκνων γε αὐτοῖς
ἐξαρπαζομένων πολλάκις οἱ δὲ ὑπερήδονται, καὶ αἵ

é ~ ,
γε μητέρες τῶν δειλαίων γάννυνται καὶ σεμναὶ
310

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ON ANIMALS, X. 19-21

is called, the Maeotes. (This also is a species of
fish.) And the reverence which both peoples pay
to either kind has its origin in this: when the Nile
is about to rise and overflow, these fish come swim-
ming in advance, as though heralding the coming
water, and gladden the anxious hearts of the
Egyptians with fair hopes, being the first to realise
the advent of the flood and foretelling it by some
marvellous natural faculty. Moreover the aforesaid
peoples are accustomed to add, concerning their
respect for the fish, that they never eat one another.

90. It seems that there are other Shellfish besides A Bea Sea

in the Red Sea, whose shells are not smooth but have
certain grooves and hollows in them.® These shells
have sharp lips, and when they close they fit into one
another, as they make the points interlock, so that
it seems as if the teeth of two saws came together.
And so if they catch any fisherman swimming and
bite any part of him they cut it off, even though
there be a bone within the bitten part; more than
that, if they bite at a joint, they cut it off at once ;
nor is that to be wondered at, for their bite 1s ex-
ceedingly sharp.

21. In Egypt there are some, like the people of

Ombos; who venerate Crocodiles, and just as we

regard the Olympian gods with awe, so do they ἃ

these animals. And when, as often happens, their
children are carried off by them, the people are
overjoyed, while the mothers of the unfortunates

a Ael. is describing the T'ridacna gigas or its kin; see
Thompson, Gk. fishes, 8.0. κόγχη.

Ὁ 1 πριόνων συνιόντων.

31

fish

The

Orocodile at

Ombos and

Apollino-
Olis

AELIAN | ᾿

, - ~
περιίασιν, ota δήπου τεκοῦσαι θεῷ βορὰν καὶ
: “~ 2 - ~ -
δεῖπνον. ᾿Απολλωνοπολῖται δὲ Τεντυριτῶν μοῖρα 1

σαγηνεύουσι τοὺς κροκοδίλους, καὶ τῶν περσεῶν
(φυτὰ δέ ἐστιν ἐπιχώρια) ἐξαρτήσαντες μετεώρους
μαστιγοῦσί τε πολλὰς καὶ τὰς 3 ἐξ ἀνθρώπων
ξαίνουσι κνυζωμένους 3 καὶ δακρύοντας, εἶτα μέντοι
κατακόπτουσιν αὐτοὺς καὶ σιτοῦνται. κύει δὲ
ἄρα τὸ ἦῷον τοῦτο ἐν ἑξήκοντα ἡμέραις, καὶ
τίκτει WA ἑξήκοντα, καὶ τοσαύταις ἡμέραις θάλπει
αὐτά, σφονδύλους τε ἔχει ἐπὶ τῆς ῥάχεως τοσού-
τοῦς, νεύροις τε αὐτὸν τοσούτοις φασὶ διεξῶσθαι,

οχεία τε αὐτῷ ἐς τοσοῦτον πρόεισιν ἀριθμόν,
καὶ ἔτη βιοῖ ἑξήκοντα (λέγω δὲ ταῦτα Αἰγυπτίους
ῥήμας τε καὶ πίστεις) 2 πάρεστι δὲ καὶ ὀδόντας
ἑξήκοντα τοῦδε τοῦ ζῴου ἀριθμεῖν, φωλεῦον δὲ
ἄρα Kal” ἕκαστον ἔτος ἑξήκοντα ἡμερῶν ἀτρεμεῖ
τε καὶ ἀτροφεῖ. τοῖς δὲ ᾿Ομβίταις καὶ συνήθεις
εἰσί, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὑπακούουσι καλούντων αὐτῶν
οἱ τρεφόμενοι ἐν ταῖς λίμναις ταῖς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν
πεποιημέναις. κομίζουσι δὲ ἄρα αὐτοῖς κεφαλὰς
τῶν ξῴων τῶν θυομένων (αὐτοὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἂν
γεύσαιντο τοῦδε τοῦ μέρους) καὶ ἐμβάλλουσιν
αὐτάς, οἱ δὲ περὶ ταύταις πηδῶσιν. οἵ γε μὴν
. ᾿Απολλωνοπολῖται μισοῦσι κροκόδιλον, λέγοντες
᾿ τὸν Τυφῶνα ὑποδῦναι τὴν τούτου. μορφήν. οἱ δὲ
od ταύτην φασὶ τὴν αἰτίαν, Ψαμμύντου δὲ βασιλέως

ἀγαθοῦ καὶ δικαίου ἐς τὰ ἔσχατα ἁρπάσαι θυγατέρα
κροκόδιλον, εἶτα μέντοι μνήμῃ τοῦ τότε πάθους
μισεῖν τὸ φῦλον αὐτῶν πᾶν καὶ τοὺς κάτω τοῦ
χρόνου γεγενημένους.
: A emst : μοῖραι. * Cobet: πολλαῖς καὶ ταῖς.
obet: κνυζομένους. 4 αὐτῶν.

312

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ON ANIMALS, ΣΧ, 21

‘ec glad and go about in pride at having, 1 suppose,
ce food and a meal for a god. But the people of
Apollinopolis, a district of Tentyra, net the Croco-
diles, hang them up on persea-trees (these are
indigenous), flog them severely, mangling them
with all the blows in the world, while the creatures
whimper and shed tears; finally they cut them up
and eat them.

The Crocodile, it seems, is pregnant for sixty days,
and produces sixty eggs which it broods for as many
days: it has that number of vertebrae in its spine,
and they say that sixty sinews girdle its body, and
it bears young ones the same number of times, and.
it lives for sixty years (1 am reporting what the
people of Egypt say and believe); one may reckon
the teeth of this creature as sixty in number; during
sixty days of every year it remains quiet in its lair
and abstains from food. The Crocodiles are accus-
tomed to the people of Ombos, and those that are
kept in the lakes made by the aforesaid people are
obedient to their summons. And the people bring
them the heads of the animals which they sacrifice—
they themselves will never touch that part—and
throw them in, and the Crocodiles come leaping
vound them. ‘The inhabitants of Apollinopolis, on
the contrary, detest the Crocodile, for they say that
this was the shape assumed by Typho. Others
however say that this is not the reason, but that a
Crocodile carried off the daughter of King Psam-

myntus,* a supremely good and righteous man, and.

therefore in memory of that disaster even posterity
abhors the whole race of Crocodiles.
@ Psammenitus (if this is the King to whom A. is referring)
was King of Egypt for six months in 526 B.C.
313

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ryt errerre tyes nomen mere te An AAAS No ρομν

a Ren TERT RT ONAN mr Rae Rant tna nora nee ate Ne een NCNM OAT

AELIAN .

; 22. Βακκαῖοι * (γένος δὲ τοῦτο ἑσπέριον) τῶν
ἀποθνησκόντων νόσῳ τοὺς νεκροὺς ὑβρίζοντες ὡς
ἀνάνδρως καὶ μαλακῶς τεθνεώτων θάπτουσι πυρί
τοὺς δὲ ἐν πολέμῳ τὸν βίον καταστρέψαντας ἐς

‘ + 3 4 \ 5 “-
καλοὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς Kal ἀρετῆς μετειληχότας γυψὶ
4 “A κυ ᾿
προβάλλουσιν, ἱερὸν τὸ ζῷον εἶναι πεπιστευκότες.

“Ῥωμύλος δὲ ἄρα ἐν τῷ ἸΙαλλαντίῳ λόφῳ δώδεκα
γυψὶν οἰωνισάμενος, ὡς ἀγαθῆς τῆς μαντείας
ἔτυχε, μιμούμενος “ τῶν ὀρνίθων τὸν ἀριθμόν, τῶν

ὠμαίων ἀρχόντων * ἰσαρίθμους τοῖς τότε ὀφθεῖ-
σιν ὄρνισι προπορεύειν 4 ῥάβδους ἐνομοθέτησεν.
Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ Ἥρας μὲν ἱερὸν ὄρνιν εἶναι πεπιστεύ-
κασι τὸν γῦπα, κοσμοῦσι δὲ τὴν τῆς Ἴσιδος
κεφαλὴν γυπὸς πτεροῖς, καὶ τοῖς τῶν προπυλαίων
ὀρόφοις ἐνετόρευσαν > γυπῶν πτέρυγας. εἶπον δὲ
si ὑπὲρ τοῦδε τοῦ ζῴου πολλά, ἕτερα

23, > ~ ~ fal > / \ >
Ἐν τῇ Κοπτῷ τῇ Αἰγυπτίᾳ τὴν Ἶσιν
σέβουσιν Αὐγύ ῖ ἄλλαις & f ὶ
͵ Αἰγύπτιοι ταῖς τε ἄλλαις ἱερουργίαις καὶ
μέντοι καὶ τῇ παρὰ τῶν πενθουσῶν ἢ τοὺς ἄνδρας
“a Ἁ -
τοὺς σφετέρους Ἢ τοὺς παῖδας ἢ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
ἰατρείᾳ τε καὶ θεραπείᾳ. ὄντων δὲ σκορπίων
~ 4 4 ~
ἐνταῦθα μεγέθει μὲν μεγίστων, πληγῇ δὲ ὀξυτάτων,
7
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“-ΟῬΜ 4
pee παραχρῆμα), Kat μηχανὰς μυρίας ἐς τὴν
΄ ~
eer φυλακὴν μηχανωμένων τῶν Αἰγυπτίων,
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καθεύδουσαι καὶ ἀνυπόδ ‘Cove L μό
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ON ANIMALS, X. 22-23

insult the corpses of such as die from disease as
having died a cowardly and effeminate death, and
dispose of them by burning; whereas those who
laid down their lives in war they regard as noble,
heroic, and full of valour, and them they cast to the
Vultures, believing this bird to be sacred. And
when Romulus on the Palatine Hill, divining by the
flight of twelve Vultures, had received a favourable
augury, following the number of the birds he decreed
that the rulers of Rome should be preceded by a
number of rods? equal to that of the birds seen on
that occasion. And the Egyptians believe that the
Vulture is sacred to Hera, and deck the head of Isis
with Vultures’ feathers, and on the roofs of the
entrances to their temples they carve the wings of
Vultures in relief.

I have earlier on said much concerning this bird,
but not to the same effect.

23. At Coptos in Egypt the natives pay homage
to Isis in a variety of rituals but especially in the
service and ministry rendered by women who are
mourning either a husband or a son or ἃ brother.
And at Coptos there are scorpions of immense size,
possessing very sharp stings, and most dangerous In
their attack (for when they strike they kill instantly),

-and the Egyptians contrive innumerable devices for

self-protection. But although the women in mourn-

ing at the temple of the goddess sleep on the floor,

α Tf Βακκαῖοι is correctly rendered ‘ Vaccaei,’ they were a
tribe in the NW of Spain.

ὃ Lat. fasces, a bundle consisting of rods and an axe, carried
by the Lictors.

315

99. The Vaccaei® (they are a western people) The Vulture

The
Scorpions
of Coptoes

AKLIAN | °

3 ~
ov πατοῦσαι τοὺς προειρημένους σκορπίους εἶ
μέντοι ἀπαθεῖς διαμένουσι. σέβουσι δὲ ἄρα of
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σιν αὐτάς, τοὺς δὲ ἄρρενας καταθύουσιν. ἄθ ie
δὲ εἶναι τὰς θηλείας τῆς "Iowds φασιν. Oe

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ἄγειν αὐτῶ ἐνταῦθά
ve ov βαθυτάτην. ᾿ ἐνταῦθά τοι καὶ θαρ-
uae νήχονται, καὶ ἀθύρουσιν ἐν τῇ νήξει. ἐν
Ὑ ᾿ °
μβίταις δὲ ἢ Κοπτίταις ἢ ᾿Αρσενοΐταις οὐδ᾽
€
ἀπονίψασθαι πόδας ῥάδιον, οὐδὲ ἀρύσασθαι ὕδωρ
᾿ 01. Ὰ “a
εὔκολον: ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ταῖς ὄχθαις τοῦ 0 ἔ
ἐμβαδίσαι ἐλευθέ ἸὉ πλάνος, τ βυύνν δ᾽
eee ϑέρως Kat ἀφυλάκτως. σέβουσι δὲ
TOL L “~ ξ δι
λα » : ΡΩΝ οὐκοῦν ob Κοπτὸν οἰκοῦν-
κοδίλων πὸ ῦ 3
ρ εμίους λυπεῖν προῃρημένοι

: <ra> add. Schn.
Jac: φιλοπόνηροι.
316

2 ,
| προειρημένοι θηραταὶ αὐτῶν.
THY KAT αὐτῶν.

SRR EE FILLE EEL ES LENCE EEN ATE IEL ELD

sto SUIS LASSI OORT ULL PEAS ASS LE OL RSL ALA ER AS hes pa capsutkapee EEA SESIC ESRD HUMES λυ EE Rosas ate
᾿ i UUs BAITS LU SSD sees sites ἐν ΆΟΜΎΥΣ, ΠΕ ΣΟΥ ΝΟ
— - μα ᾿ 2 css it ia int

ON ANIMALS, X. 23-24

go about with bare feet, and all but tread on the

aforesaid scorpions, yet they remain unharmed.
And these same people of Coptos worship and deify
the female gazelle, though they sacrifice the male.
They say that the females are the pets of Isis.

94. The Crocodile (I may say that I have learned The

these facts in addition to what has already been
recounted of this animal) is naturally timid, of an
evil disposition, and thoroughly villainous. It is
alert to seize and plan against its victims, but it
dreads all noises and is afraid even of loud shouts of
men and has a violent fear of those who boldly

Crocodile

attack it. Now the people of Egypt called Ten- Killed at

tyrites know the best way to master the beast: the
most effective way of wounding it is to strike it in the
eyes or the armpits and even in the belly. Its back
however, and its tail are impenetrable, for it is
fortified and, so to say, armed with scaly plates
which resemble hard earthenware or shells. Now the
aforesaid people are so assiduous in pursuit of these
creatures that the river in their district is left in
profound peace by the Crocodiles. So there they
make bold to swim and sport in their swimming.
Whereas among the people of Ombos or Coptos
Aysinoe it is not easy even to wash one’s feet nor
can one draw water in security; why, one cannot
even walk along the river banks freely and off one’s
guard. But the people of Tentyra worship Hawks.
For that reason those who live in Coptos, wishing to
annoy the Tentyrites as enemies of the Crocodiles,
often crucify Hawks. The Crocodile the people of
Coptos liken to water, that is why they worship it;

we δ Ges: "OpBpors.
317

Tentyra

OY worshipped

at Coptos

AELIAN

fd > ~
πολλάκις ἀνασταυροῦσιν ἱέρακας. εἰκάζουσι δὲ
? -
τὸν μὲν κροκόδιλον ἐκεῖνοι ὕδατι, ἔνθεν τοι καὶ
j 4 ¢? :
σέβουσιν: οἱ δὲ τὸν ἱέρακα πυρί, ταύτῃ τοι Kal
προσκυνοῦσι: μαρτύριό Te. ᾿ἀπό ᾿
ροσκῦνο μ pruptoy τε ἐπάγουσιν Ἷ ἀπότομον
αὐτῶν εἶναι t λέγοντες πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ ἀμιγές
ταῦτα οὖν τερατολογοῦντες ὃ Αἰγύπτιοί φασιν :

3

. 25. Oaow τὴν Αἰγυπτίαν διελθόντι ἀπαντᾷ
ἑπτὰ ἡμερῶν ὅλων ἐρημία βαθυτάτη. μετὰ δὲ
ταύτην Κυνοπρόσωποι νέμονται ἄνθρωποι κατὰ τὺ
ὁδὸν τὴν ἐς Αἰθιοπίαν ἄγουσαν. ζῶσι δὲ a is
οὗτοι. θηρῶντες δορκάδας τε καὶ βουβαλίδας, ἰδεῖν
γε μὴν μέλανές εἰσι, κυνὸς δὲ ἔχουσι τὴν κεφαλὴν
καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐοίκασι τῷδε τῷ ζῴῳ
καὶ μάλα γε εἰκότως αὐτῶν ἐνταυθοῖ THY μνήμην
τους νος φωνῆς δ᾽ οὖν ὁ ἀμοιροῦσι, τρίζουσι
ὲ ὀξύ' κάτεισι δὲ ὑπὸ τὴν ὑπήνην αὐτοῖς γένειον
ὡς εἰκάσαι τοῖς τῶν δρακόντων αὐτό. αἱ δὲ
χεῖρες αὐτῶν ὄνυξιν ἰσχυροῖς καὶ ὀξυτάτοις εἰσὶ
τεθηγμέναι: τὸ δὲ πᾶν σῶμα δασεῖς πεφύκασι
κατὰ τοὺς κύνας καὶ robro, kurrot Sé τεῖος καὶ
ἴσασι τὰ ἐν τοῖς τόποις δύ 5 ἐντεῦθέ
καὶ δυσάλωτοι tia πον ἐμ

a , )
26. Τῷ λύκῳ ὁ τράχηλος ἐς βραχὺ συνῆκται.
οὔκουν οἷός τέ ἐστιν ἐπιστραφῆναι, ὁρᾷ δὲ ἐς τὸ
πρόσω ἀεί: εἰ δὲ βούλοιτό ποτε ἐς τοὐπίσω
θεάσασθαι, πᾶς ἐπιστρέφεται. ὀξυωπέστατον δέ

᾿ ἀπότομον . . . εἶναι corrupt.

: πενθοῦντες or τερθροῦντες.

: J ac: eis Ai. THY ἄγουσαν.
γοῦν or yap.

318

ON ANIMALS, X. 24-26

whereas the Tentyrites liken the Hawk to fire, hence
their adoration. And they adduce as evidence .. -*

᾿ς maintaining that fire and water cannot mingle.

Such are the marvellous tales told by the Egyp-
tians..

95. After traversing the Egyptian oasis one is
confronted for seven whole days with utter desert.
Beyond this live the human Dog-faces?® along the road
that leads to Ethiopia. It seems that these creatures
live by bunting gazelles and antelopes; further,
they are black in appearance, and they have the
head and teeth of a dog. And since they resemble
this animal, it is very natural that J should mention
them here. They are however not endowed with
speech, but utter a shrill squeal. Beneath their
chin hangs down a beard; we may compare it with
the beards of dragons,’ and. strong and very sharp
nails give an edge to their hands. Their whole body
+s covered with hair—another respect in which they
resemble dogs. They are very swift of foot and
know the regions that are inaccessible: that is why
they appear so hard to capture.

96. The neck of a Wolf is short and compressed ; The Wolf

the animal is thus incapable of turning but always
looks straight ahead. And if it wants to look back
at any time, it turns its whole body. It has the

4 The sense required to complete the last clause appears to
be ‘ They account for their hostility by pointing out that, ete.’
> Gossen (§ 238) regards the Ἰζυνοπρόσωπος as the ἡ Mandrill,’
a kind of baboon, native of W Africa.
ε The δράκων in Nic. Th. 438 ff. is ἃ large snake.
oe age sa seg ae ee
5 ὕδατα. 6 Ges: ἐνταῦθα.

The

Dog-faces

ΣΝ

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, X. 26-27
sharpest sight of any animal, and indeed it can even
see at night when there is no moon. Hence the
name Lycophos (wolf ’s-light, i.e. gloaming) is applied
to that season of the night in which the Wolf alone has
light with which Nature provides him. And I think
that Homer gives the name [Il. 7. 483] ‘ twilight of |
ihe night,’ to the time during which Wolves can see to |
move about. And they say that the Wolf is beloved beloved of 7
of the Sun; and there are those who assert that the pone

ear is called Lycabas in honour of this animal. It is
said also that Apollo takes pleasure in the Wolf, and
the reason which is commonly reported has reached
me too. Itis this: they say that the god was born
after Leto had changed herself into a she-wolf. That
is why Homer speaks of ‘the wolf-born lord of the
bow ’ [1]. 4. 101]. That is why, as I learn, at Delphi
a bronze Wolf is set up, in allusion to the birth-pangs
of Leto. Others however deny this, maintaining revesls
that it was because a Wolf gave information that Hs
offerings had been stolen from the temple and had
been buried by the sacrilegious thieves. For it
made its way into the temple and with its mouth
pulled one of the priests by his sacred robe and drew
him to the spot in which the offerings had been
hidden, and then proceeded to dig the spot with its

forepaws.

ἐστι ζῴων, καὶ μέντοι καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ σελήνης οὐκ |
οὔσης 6 δὲ ὁρᾷ." ἔνθεν τοι καὶ λυκόφως κέκληται
ὁ καιρὸς οὗτος τῆς νυκτός, ἐν ᾧ μόνος ἐκεῖνος τὸ
φῶς “ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως λαχὼν 2 ἔχει. δοκεῖ δέ μοι
καὶ Opmpos λέγειν ἀμφιλύκην νύκτα καθ᾽ ἣν
δὴ [βλέποντες λύκοι βαδίζουσι. λέγουσι δὲ φίλον
Ἡλίῳ εἶναι αὐτόν, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἐς τιμὴν τὴν τοῦ
ζῴου κεκλῆσθαι καὶ τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν λυκάβαντα εἰσὶν
οἵ λέγουσι. χαίρειν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν ᾿Απόλλω
λόγος, καὶ ἡ αἰτία 4 διαρρέουσα καὶ ἐς ἐμὲ
ἀφίκετο. τὸν γάρ τοι θεὸν τοῦτον τεχθῆναϊί φασι
τῆς Λητοῦς μεταβαλούσης τὸ εἶδος ἐς λύκαιναν.
ταύτῃ τοι λέγει καὶ Ὅμηρος ὅ λυκηγενέι κλυτο-
τόξῳ" ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἀνακεῖσθαι λύκον
πέπυσμαι χαλκοῦν τὴν τῆς Λητοῦς ὠδῖνα αἰνιττό-
μενον. οἱ δὲ οὐ διὰ τοῦτό φασιν ἀλλὰ ἐπεὶ
κλαπέντα ἀναθήματα ἐκ τοῦ νεὼ καὶ κατορυχθέντα
ὑπὸ τῶν ἱεροσύλων λύκος ὃ κατεμήνυσε. παρελθὼν
γὰρ ἐς τὸν νεὼν καὶ τῶν προφητῶν τινα τῆς
ἐσθῆτος τῆς ἱερᾶς ἑλκύσας τῷ στόματι καὶ προ-
σαγαγὼν μέχρι τοῦ τόπου ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἀναθήματα
ἐκέκρυπτο εἶτα τοῖς προσθίοις ὥρυττεν αὐτόν.

4 diss re hagas Ἀγρνυγρὰς ἧς, Bare rgotiiies
ΠΣ ΣΡ ΖΩΣ

ΠΤ ELE EE LER ABET REELED EELS DDSI: Ἐν SSeS WEA iota

_ 27. Κώμη Αὐγυπτία Χουσαὶ τὸ ὄνομα (τελεῖ δὲ
ἐς τὸν Ἑρμοπολίτην 7 νομόν, καὶ μικρὰ μὲν δοκεῖ,
χαρίεσσά (γεν ὰ μήν) , ἐν ταύτῃ σέβουσιν ᾿Αφροδί-

ΠΡ Οὐ αν Αὐτὴν τὴς a EE SBN 97. There is a district in Egypt called Chusae (it The Cow and

is reckoned as belonging to the province of Hermo- 4?"
1 δρᾷ, καὶ ὅτε πᾶσίν ὁ er oe , polis, and though small in extent it possesses charm)
Tape gee μὰ pene | and there they worship Aphrodite under the title of

2 λαβών.
: ane — 5 Ὅ, εἰπών. Urania (heavenly). They also pay homage to a cow,
ύκος τὸ ζῷον. 7 ἙἙξμουπολίτην
8 4
<ye> add. Η. « NW corner of the Nile delta.

320 221

VOL. I. M

ΠΡ ΡΠ) WN τ
MLM AEE
g

Re a ee ra enor ylayma ve a nd hava lea SAL AQAA nr ENSURE TENE en AOSTA φέροντα RLM SAMOA TUOMAS RINE TRUER EE Ν
x gOS era neti

AELIAN

7 ~ \ \ > "ἢ . :
θήλειαν βοῦν, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐκείνην λέγουσι.

7 §. ΤΟΝ “᾿ “-
πεπιστεύκασιν αὐτὰς προσήκειν τῇδε τῇ δαίμονι.
> ἢ ᾿
11. γὰρ ἐς ἀφροδίσια ἰσχυρὰν ἔχει 1 βοῦς
lan ~ + ~
ἤλυς, Kat ὀργᾷ τοῦ ἄρρενος μᾶλλον. ἀκούσασα

~ ~ v4
γοῦν τοῦ μυκήματος ἐς τὴν μίξιν θερμότατα
ἰ

» / \ ? A
ἐξηνέμωται Kat ἐκπέφλεκται. καὶ οἱ ταῦτά γε
" \ \ 3 \
συνιδεῖν δεινοὶ καὶ ἀπὸ τριάκοντα σταδίων ἀκούειν
“-Ἠ > bY /
ταύρου βοῦν ἐρωτικὸν σύνθημα καὶ ἀφροδίσιον μυ-
\ 24 > ᾿
κωμένου φασί. καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν Ἶσιν Αἰγύπτιοι
βούκερων καὶ πλά L γρά
ρων καὶ πλάττουσι καὶ γράφουσιν.

; 28. Σάλπιγγος ἦχον βδελύττονται Βουσιρῖται καὶ
᾿Αβυδος ἡ Αἰγυπτία καὶ Λύκων mods," ἐπεί πως
rie ὄνῳ »βρωμωμένῳ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσοι περὶ τὴν
ὑρησκείαν ἐχοῦσι τὴν τοῦ Σαράπιδος μισοῦσι τὸν
ὄνον. τοῦτό τοι καὶ Ὦχος ὁ Πέρσης εἰδὼς
ἀπέκτεινε μὲν τὸν "Amy, ἐξεθέωσε δὲ τὸν ὄνον, ἐς
τὰ ἔσχατα. λυπῆσαι θέλων τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους.
ἔδωκε δὲ ἄρα καὶ αὐτὸς δίκας τῷ ἱερῷ βοὶ οὐ
μεμπτὰς οὐδὲ “ἥττονας Καμβύσου τοῦ πρώτου τὴν
εοσυλίαν ταύτην τετολμηκότος. μισοῦσι δὲ οἱ
αὐτοὶ θεραπευταὶ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ προειρημένου καὶ
τὸν ὄρυγα. τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, ἀποστραφεὶς πρὸς τὴν
ἀνατολὴν τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου τὰ περιττὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ
τροφῆς ἐκθλίβει φασὶν Αἰγύπτιοι. λέγουσι δὲ οἱ

υθαγόρειοι ὑπὲρ ὃ τοῦ ὄνου καὶ ἐκεῖνο, μόνον
τοῦτον τῶν ζῴων μὴ γεγονέναι κατὰ ἁρμονίαν"

1 “"Ἅ μ“ ep
Jac: ἔχει ἐκεῖνος.

bd fd Ἁ ,ὔ

: πόλις, καὶ λέγουσι τὴν αἰτίαν.
ὡς λόγος ὑπέρ.

ἅ ἐκεῖνα.

322

Bees ξπκφεράς "8 eine be GNA st ἐν

ΝΕ 4 ete et ea
Steet edi Bremer ss pings Hee Mepis 33
pei ΕΖ ΡΣ Σ ΤΩ i aes τοῦς

2D, ULE ONE

ON ANIMAIS, X. 27-28

and this, they say, is the reason: they believe that
cows are related to this goddess, because the cow
feels a strong incitement to love and is more passion-
ate than the bull.. At any rate at the sound of his
pellow the cow becomes excited and inflamed with
a burning desire to couple. And those who are
expert in these matters maintain that a cow hears a
bull as much as thirty stades * away when it is bellow-
ing as a signal to love and mate. And in Egypt
sculptors and painters represent Isis herself with the
horns of a cow. |

98. The people of Busiris and of Abydos in Egypt
and of Lycopolis dislike the blare of a trumpet on
the ground that it resembles the braying of an Ass.
And those who attend to the cult of Serapis also
hate the Ass. Now Ochus the Persian ® knowing
this slew Apis and deified the Ass from a wish to pain
the Egyptians to the utmost. And so he too paid
a penalty, which all applauded, to the Sacred Bull,
no less than Cambyses ὁ who was the first that dared
commit this sacrilege. And the same ministers of
the aforesaid Zeus (z.e. Serapis) detest the antelope
as well, and for this reason: the Egyptians maintain
that it voids its excrement after turning its back
towards the rising sun. And the followers of
Pythagoras also say this touching the Ass, that it
alone among animals was not born in tune, and.

@ Over 3 miles.

> The name of Artaxerxes III before he became King of
Persia, 359 B.c. He conquered Egypt and in 338 was poisoned.
by Bagoas.

¢ Cambyses, King of Persia, outraged the Egyptians by his
cruelty and his insults to their religion. He died from a wound
caused by his own sword; cp. Hdt. 3. 64.

323

The Ass and
the Ante-
lope, hated

in Egypt

SSE EN 2 REE RIN EE ἘΞ ΣᾺ

ΑΒΉΙΑΝ.

ταύτῃ τοι καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἦχον τὸν τῆς λύρας εἶναι.
κωφότατον. ἤδη δὲ αὐτόν τινες καὶ τῷ Τυφῶνι.
προσφιλῆ ' γεγονέναι φασί. ἐθέλουσι 1 δὲ καὶ
ἐκείνην αἰτίαν τῷ ὄνῳ προσάπτειν πρὸς τοῖς

7 as A /
προειρημένοις. πᾶν TO γόνιμον τετίμηται, ἐναντίως

ὃ \ » 4 ~ f A ΄΄ι ΄»΄- i
é dpa πρὸς ταῦτα πέφυκε τὸ ζῷον τοῦτο. didupa

~ » ~ » € i a ᾽
γοῦν ὄνον τεκοῦσαν οὐ ῥᾳδίως μέμνηταΐ τις λόγος.

; 29. Ἴδιον δὲ ἐν Αἰγυπτίοις λόγοις ἴβεως καὶ
ἐκεῖνο προσακήκοα. ὅταν ὑποκρύψηται τὴν δέρην
καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῖς ὑπὸ τῷ στέρνῳ πτεροῖς, τὸ
τῆς καρδίας σχῆμα ἀπεμάξατο. ἄλλως τε καὶ ὅτι
εἰσί τοῖς ἐπὶ λύμῃ καὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ καρπῶν
SOs. γεγενημένοις ἔχθισται ἤδη που καὶ ἄνω
εἶπον." μίγνυνται δὲ τοῖς στόμασι, καὶ παιδοποιοῦν--
ται τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον. λέγουσι δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι
(καὶ ewe γε οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἔχουσι πειθόμενον) λέγουσι
ὃ οὖν ὅ τοὺς ταῖς ταριχείαις τῶν ζῴων ἐφεστῶτας
καὶ δεινοὺς. τήνδε τὴν σοφίαν ὁμολογεῖν τὸ τῆς
ἴβεως ἔντερον ἕξ εἶναι πήχεων καὶ ἐνενήκοντα.
διαβαίνειν δὲ κατὰ πῆχυν αὐτὴν προσακήκοα
βαδίζουσαν. σελήνης δὲ ἐκλιπούσης καταμύει,
ἔστ᾽ ἂν ἡ θεὸς αὖθις ἀναλάμψῃ. καὶ τῷ Ἑρμῇ δέ
φασι τῷ πατρὶ τῶν λόγων φιλεῖται, ἐπεὶ ἔοικε τὸ
εἶδος τῇ φύσει τοῦ λόγου: τὰ μὲν γὰρ μέλανα
ὠκύπτερα τῷ τε σιγωμένῳ καὶ ἔνδον ἐπιστρεφομένῳ
λόγῳ παραβάλλουτο ἄν, τὰ δὲ λευκὰ τῷ προφερο-
μένῳ τε καὶ ἀκουομένῳ ἤδη καὶ ὑπηρέτῃ τοῦ ἔνδον
καὶ ἀγγέλῳ, ὡς ἂν εἴποις. WS μὲν οὖν μακροβιώ-
τατόν ἐστι τὸ ξῷον καὶ δὴ εἶπον" λέγει δὲ ᾿Απίων
καὶ ἐπάγεται τοὺς ἐν “Ἑρμοῦ πόλει ἱερέας μάρτυρας
1 λέγουσι. 2 προεῖπον. 3 γοῦν.

324

εἰ

S
᾿
ΕἸ
᾿
Ἐξ
a

IES ge st se REN RU Ue IN

PLE UE ties

SY YS ΕΣ ΖΡ ΤΙΣ BS OARS BHA BYE ea ie

ON ANIMALS, X. 28-29

that this accounts for its being completely deaf to

ithe sound of the lyre. Some moreover say that it
was beloved of Typho. And in addition to the
foregoing charges they would blame the Ass for this
also: fertility in all kinds is respected, but this
animal is by nature opposed to it. At any rate it is
not easy to recall any account of a she-ass giving
birth to twins.

99, Here is another peculiarity of the Ibis which 1 The ts
have learnt from Egyptian narratives. When it
‘buries its neck and head beneath its breast-feathers,

it imitates the shape of the heart. Of its special
hostility to creatures injurious to man and to crops
I think I have already spoken earlier on.* The birds
couple with their mouth and beget offspring in that
way. And the Egyptians say, though I for one am
not easily persuaded, yet they say that those who
see to the embalming of animals and who are experts
at it, agree that the entrails of the Ibis measure
ninety-six cubits. 1 have heard further that its
stride when walking measures a cubit. And when
the moon is in eclipse it closes its eyes until the god-
dess shines out again. It is said to be beloved of
Hermes the father of speech because its appearance
resembles the nature of speech: thus, the black
wing-feathers might be compared to speech sup-
pressed and turned inwards, the white to speech
brought out, now audible, the servant and the
messenger of what is within, so to say. Now I have
already mentioned that the bird lives to a very great
age. And Apion states that it is immortal and
adduces the priests.of Hermopolis as witnesses to

ἃ See 1. 38 (iv); 2. 38.

325

AELIAN

, ¢ 4 3 “- ΠῚ
δεικνύντας οἱ (Bw ἀθάνατον. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ
» ~ > f >
ἐκείνῳ δοκεῖ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀφεστάναι πάμπολυ, καὶ
ic)
ἐμοὶ δὲ πάντως ἂν καταφαίνοιτο ψευδές. ἔστι δὲ
τὴν φύσιν θερμό ἡ ,
τὴν φύσιν θερμότατον ἡ ἶβις, πολυβορώτατον γοῦν
3} wv “nw
ὃν Kat κακοβορώτατον, εἴγε Opes σιτεῖται Kal

’ὔ > 4 A \ 4
σκορπίους. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πέττει ῥᾳδίως, τὰ δὲ

εὐκολώτατα ἀποκρίνει. ἴδοι δ᾽ ἄν τις νοσοῦσαν
ἶβιν σπανιώτατα. πανταχοῦ δὲ καθιεῖσα ἶβις τὸ
ῥάμφος, τῶν ῥυπαρῶν καταφρονοῦσα καὶ ἐμβαί-
νουσα αὐτοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ καὶ ἐκεῖθέν τι ἀνιχνεῦσαι,
ὅμως ὃ οὖν ἐς κοῖτον τρεπομένη λούει τε πρότερον
ἑαυτὴν καὶ ἐκκαθαίρει. νεοττεύει δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν
φοινίκων τοὺς αἰλούρους ἀποδιδράσκουσα' οὐ γάρ
τί ποὺ ῥᾳδίως ἐκεῖνο τὸ ζῷον ἀναρριχᾶται καὶ
ἀνέρπει κατὰ τοῦ φοίνικος, ἐκ τῶν ἐξοχῶν τῶν
ἐπὶ τοῦ πρέμνου πολλάκις ἀντικρουόμενόν τε καὶ

ἐκβαλλόμενον.

30. Kat ἐκεῖνα ᾿ δὲ κυνοκεφάλων εἰπεῖν ἐπὶ
στόμα μοι νῦν ἀφίκετο. εἰ λάβοι κυνοκέφαλος ”
τρωκτὰ σὺν τοῖς ὀστράκοις (ἀμυγδάλας φημὶ καὶ
τὰς τῶν δρυῶν βαλάνους καὶ κάρυα), ἐκλέπει τε
καὶ καθαίρει, καταγνὺς πρότερον πάνυ συνετῶς,
καὶ οἶδεν ὅτι ἀρα τὸ μὲν ἔνδον ἐδώδιμόν ἐστι, τὰ
δὲ ἔξω ἐκβάλλειν χρή. πίνει δὲ οἴνου, καὶ παραθέν-
τῶν = ἑφθὰ κρέα καὶ ὀπτὰ ἐμπίπλαται, καὶ τοῖς
μὲν ἡδυσμένοις χαίρει, τοῖς δὲ ἀσπουδάστως
ἐφθοῖς πάνυ ἄχθεται. φείδεται δὲ καὶ ἐσθῆτος
ἐνδὺς αὐτήν, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δρᾷ ὅσα ἀνωτέρω εἶπον.
θηλῇ δὲ γυναικὸς εἰ προσαγάγοις ἔτι νήπιον,
σπάσει Τοῦ γάλακτος ὡς παιδίον.

1 , x 3 4 ΚΣ
κατεφαίνετο ψευδὲς εἰ καὶ ἐκείνῳ δοκεῖ.

326

Ree er

RRS SiR ORG ἘΣ ΔῈ ΕΣ

amaieniy ee
yieleoipeseys prsseesease tes
SE at IS OIE Ty CR τὰ

ON ANIMALS, X. 29-30

rove it. Yet even he considers that this is very far
from the truth, and to me it would seem to be an
absolute falsehood. The Ibis is a very hot-blooded
creature, at any rate it is an exceedingly voracious
and foul feeder if it really does eat snakes and
and scorpions. And yet some things it digests
without difficulty, while others it easily expels in
its excrement. And very rarely would one see a sick
Ibis, yet it thrusts its beak down in every place,
caring nothing for any filth and treading upon it
in the hope of tracking down something even there.
And yet when it turns to rest it first of all washes
itself and purges. It makes its nest in the top of
date-palms in order to escape the cats, for this
animal cannot easily clamber and crawl up a date-
palm as it is constantly impeded and thrown off by
the protuberances on the stem. πος

40. It occurs to me now to mention the following The Baboon

additional facts relating to Baboons. If a Baboon
fnds some edible object with a shell on it (I mean
almonds, acorns, nuts) it strips the shell off and
cleans it out, after first breaking it most intelligently,
and it knows that the contents are good to eat but
that the outside is to be thrown away. And it will
drink wine, and if boiled or cooked meat is served

to it, it will eat its fill; and it likes well-seasoned.
food, but food boiled without any care it dislikes.

If it wears clothes, it is careful of them ; and it does

everything else that I have described above. If you.

put it while still tiny to a woman’s breast, it will suck
the milk like a baby.

i θὕ....».-.-----

2 st ΕἾ θ ,
τινα EKAOTOS. παραᾶδθδεντοξ.

᾿ 327

AELIAN

31. Τὴν δὲ θέρμουθιν ἀσπίδα, ἣ ὄνομα. ἔθεντο
Αἰγύπτιοι τοῦτο, ἱερὰν εἶναί φασι, καὶ σέβουσιν
αὐτὴν οἱ ἐκεῖθι, καὶ τῆς “loos τὰ ἀγάλματα
ἀναδοῦσι ταύτῃ, ὥς τινι διαδήματι βασιλείῳ.
λέγουσι δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ δηλήσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ
βλάβῃ μὴ φῦναι" ἐκεῖνο δὲ τερατεύονται, φείδεσθαι,
μὲν αὐτὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τοὺς δὲ ἀσεβοῦντας
ἀποκτιννύναι. εἰ δὲ ταῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχει, τοῦ παντὸς
ἂν ἡ Δίκη τιμήσαυτο τήνδε τὴν ἀσπίδα, τιμωροῦσαν
αὐτῇ καὶ ὁρῶσαν ὀξύτατα. οἱ δὲ ἐπιλέγουσιν ὅτι
ἡ Tous τοῖς τὰ μέγιστα πλημμελήσασιν ἐπιπέμπει
αὐτήν. λέγουσι δὲ αὐτὴν Αἰγύπτιοι μόνην ἀσπίδων
ἀθάνατον εἶναι, ἑκκαίδεκα γένη καὶ διαφορότητας
τοῦδε τοῦ ζῴου καταλέγοντες. ἔν τε τοῖς ἱεροῖς,
ws ot»? αὐτοί φασι, καθ᾽ ἑκάστην γωνίαν
θαλάμας τινὰς καὶ σηκώδεις ὑποδρομὰς ἐξοι-
κοδομοῦντες εἶτα μέντοι θερμούθεις ἐσῴκιξζον,
στέαρ μόσχειον βορὰν παρατιθέντες ἐκ διαστὴημά-
των. | ᾿

32. "Ακανθον τὸν ὄρνιν ἐκ. τῶν τρεφουσῶν
ἀκανθῶν. λαβεῖν τὸ ὄνομα ot σοφοὶ τὰ ὀρνίθων
φασί.. φθέγγεται δὲ ἄρα ἐμμελὲς 3 καὶ εὔμουσον ὃ
δεινῶς. λέγει δὲ ᾿Αριστοτέλης, ἐὰν. τοῦδε ᾿ τοῦ
ἀκάνθου καὶ μέντοι (καὶ ὁ τοῦ καλουμένου
αἰγίθου ᾿ τὸ αἷμα ἐς ταὐτὸν ἀγγεῖόν τις ἀναμίξῃ.
καὶ Kepdoat θελήσῃ, τὰ δὲ μὴ συνιέναι μηδ᾽
ἑνοῦσθαι ἐς μίαν κρᾶσιν. ἱερόν τε εἶναι τὸν ἄκανθον
τῶν δαιμόνων τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν πομπευόντων καὶ
ἀγόντων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους φᾳισί. Ὁ ς

1 <ot> add. Η.

2 Jaci ἐκμελές.

328

esas

<
|

ON ANIMALS, ΣΧ. 31-32

31. They say that the asp to which the Egyptians The‘ Ther-

routhis ᾽ asp

have given the name Thermuthis is sacred, and the
people of the country worship it, and bind it, as
though it was a royal headdress, about the statues of
Isis. And they deny that it was born to destroy or

injure man, but when they maintain that it does not

touch virtuous people but kills evildoers they are
romancing. If however this is so, then Justice
would value this asp beyond all things, for taking
vengeance on her behalf and for its piercing sight.
Others add that Isis sends it against the worst trans-
gressors. And the Egyptians assert that the Ther-
muthis alone among asps is immortal, and they
reckon sixteen different species and varieties. And
in their temples, as they say, they build dens and
burrows like shrines in every corner and make

homes for the Thermuthes, and at intervals they

provide them with calves’ fat to eat. |

32. Those who know about birds say that the bird the rinnet

Acanthus* derives its name from the acanthus
which provides it with food. And its voice is
wonderfully harmonious and tuneful. And Aristotle
says [HA 610 a 6] that if one pours the blood of the
Acanthus and of the Aegithus, as it is called, into
the same vessel and wants to mix them, the two
kinds will not mix and unite into a single compound.
They say that the Acanthus is sacred to the gods
who escort and conduct men on a journey.

α Linnet or perhaps Siskin; identical with the Acanthis of

Arist. HA 1.6.; and Aegithus has been taken to mean the
same, though ‘ Blue Tit’ is more probable. vane

4 «καί add. H.

3 Ges: ἄμουσον.
8 Ges: αἰγιθάλου.

329

ASTRO ISON TNT TTA SS SM PN STOTT SER ER NE A EE SE

AELIAN

2
33. Ὅτι σώφρων ἐστὶν ἡ τρυγὼν Kat πλὴν τοῦ

/ 4 ~ -
συννόμου, ὅτῳ καὶ συνῆλθεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, μὴ ἄν ποτε,

¢ 4 > “
ὁμιλήσειεν + ἀσπαζομένη λέχος ὀθνεῖόν τε καὶ
> ? li

ἀλλότριον, ἄνω μοι λέλεκται. ἀκούω δὲ τῶν
2 ; ΝΕ : σι

ἀκριβούντων τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων ἱστορίαν καὶ

λευκὰς τρυγόνας φανῆναι πολλάκις. λέγουσι δὲ

αὐτὰς 3 ἱερὰς εἶναι ᾿Αφροδίτης τε καὶ Δήμητρος,
Μοιρῶν δὲ 38 καὶ ᾿Ερινύων τὰς ἄλλας. |

ΕΗ f
34. "Ωφθησάν ποτε καὶ χελιδόνες λευκαί, ws
3 “ ς 4 7 ow
Αλέξανδρος 6 Μύνδιός φησιν. ἐν δὲ τῇ ᾿Αλεξάν-
o~ f -
δρου τοῦ Πύρρου παιδὸς σκηνῇ χελιδὼν νεοττεύουσα
> 4 3 nm \ δι ra >
εἶτα μέντοι ἀτελῆ τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτῷ ἐφ᾽ ἥνπερ οὖν
ξ “Ν ¢ 7 x
ὡρμᾶτο ὑπεσήμηνεν od πάνυ τι οὖσαν ἀγαθήν. Kal
> , \ -
Αντιόχῳ δὲ... νεοττεύουσα ἐν. .. ὃ αὐτοῦ τὰ
; {NA 7 "-: > 4 θ ¢ fd 3 Ἀ
μέλλοντά οἱ ἀπαντήσεσθαι ὑπηνίξατο: ἀνελθὼν
\ 3 Ἁ / ἔμ
γὰρ ἐς τοὺς Μήδους εἶτα μέντοι οὐκ ἐπανῆλθεν ἐς
4 “Se > >
_ tovs Ldpous, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτὸν κατά τινος Ewoe κρημ-
~ [τ ᾿ vant wit
vob. ὥρμητο δὲ dpa ἐπὶ πρᾶξιν od χρηστὴν Kal
“Ὁ ς’ἥ Ἁ 3 Ν
οὗτος. ἡνίκα δὲ ἐξέλιπε τὴν ἀκρόπολιν τὸ πρότε-
? , :
pov Διονύσιος, συνανήχθησάν ot καὶ at νεοττεύουσαι
7 > ns LY
χελιδόνες ἐκεῖθι, καὶ ἐμαντεύοντο τὴν ἐπάνοδον.
“ \ ἐ \ nm
τιμᾶται δὲ ἡ χελιδὼν θεοῖς μυχίοις καὶ “Adpodirn,
f 7
μυχίᾳ μέντοι καὶ ταύτῃ.
ὁμιλήσῃ.
aurol,
καὶ Μοιρῶν.
αὗται.

5 To fill the lacunae H suggests καὶ "A. δὲ {(χελιδῶνΣ ν. ἐν {τῇ
σκηνῇ » αὐτοῦ. ὶ
8 twa. . . κρημνόν,

1
2
3
4

« The Ring-dove is so described in ὃ, 44.
33°

seas

2 SM EES URLS rr 8 AE: SIRE US ta nec
hy PIER aos ES

ILO SIS HER RRS

ON ANIMALS, X. 33-34

33. I have stated earlier on that the Turtle-dove The Turtle-

is continent ὁ and does not, from a desire for some
strange and alien bed, consort with any other mate
than the one it originally joined. And I learn from
those who enquire minutely into such matters that
white Turtle-doves are often to be seen. These,
they say, are sacred to Aphrodite and Demeter,

while the other kind is sacred to the Fates and the

;irinyes.

34. Even white Swallows have been seen at times, ‘The Swallow
according to Alexander of Myndus. A Swallow pong

made its nest in the tent of Alexander the son
of Pyrrhus® and then indicated that, whatever
the somewhat discreditable expedition on which he
was setting out, it would be ineffectual. And <a
Swallow) which made its nest (in the tent) of Anti-
ochus ὁ hinted obscurely at the future in store for
him. For he went up against the Medes and never
returned to Syria but threw himself over a precipice.
He too therefore embarked on no prosperous affair.
And when Dionysius? first left his citadel, the
Swallows which had their nests there withdrew at the
same time and foretold his return. The Swallow is
held sacred to the Gods of the Household and to
Aphrodite, for she also is one of them.

> Alexander II became King of Epirus, 272 B.c.; he expelled
Antigonus Gonatas from Macedonia, but was in turn expelled
from Macedonia and Epirus by the son of Antigonus.

¢ Antiochus VII, King of Syria, defeated by the Parthians
(τοὺς Μήδους), 128 B.C.

4 Dionysius the elder, tyrant of Syracuse, who lived ὁ. 430—
367 B.c.; he made Ortygia into a fortress where he took refuge
during a revolt which he subsequently quelled.

331

τ ΩΣ ΣΣΣΣΣΞΞΞΣΣΣΣΣΣΣ ΣΟ NON TST RN LU ap MR toe aM ASL RS A A NS SUA a ΔΘ ΘΙ ΞΜ ΟΣ ΑΙ ετ εις λον το ο δ

AELIAN

35. Οἱ πέρδικες, ὅταν ἐπῳάζωσι, προβάλλονταί
τινας θάμνους καὶ δάση ἕτερα 1 ὑπὲρ {708 καὶ
δρόσους καὶ ὄμβρους καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι ἂν ἢ 3 νοτερὸν
ἀποστέγειν αὐτῶν. εἰ γὰρ διάβροχά πως γένοιτο,
ἐὰν μὴ πάλιν ἡ ἡ τεκοῦσα ὑποθάλψῃ * αὐτὰ ἐπελθοῦσα
ταχέως, γίνεται ἄγονα. ἀθρόα δὲ καὶ πεντεκαΐδεκα
Wa ἀποτίκτει. ταρλάγονων δὲ ἄρα περδίκων
διπλῆν ὁρᾶσθαι καρδίαν ὃ Θεόφραστός πού φησιν.
ἄθυρμα δὲ ὃ πέρδιξ τῆς ὁ Διὸς καὶ Λητοῦς ds
ἐστιν ἄλλοι λέγουσιν.

36. Εἶπον μὲν καὶ ἀνωτέρω περὶ τῶν κύκνων,
εἰρήσεται δὲ ἄρα καὶ νῦν ὅσα οὐ πρότερον εἶπον.
᾿Αριστοτέλης λέγει ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ τῇ Λιβύων
φανῆναί ποτε κύκνων ἀγέλην, καὶ ἀκουσθῆναί τι
μέλος αὐτῶν ὡς ἐκ χοροῦ τινος ὁμοφώνου, πάνυ
μὲν ἡδύ, γοερόν γε μήν, καὶ οἷον ἐς οἶκτον ἐπικλά-
gat τοὺς ἀκούοντας. καί τινας ἐπὶ τῷ. μέλει. φησὶ
φανῆναι τεθνεῶτας αὐτῶν. φίλος δὲ ἣν ἄρα ὁ
κύκνος. πηγαῖς τε καὶ τενάγεσι καὶ λίμναις καὶ
ταῖς ὅσαι πεφύκασιν ὑδάτων σύρροιαί 7 χε καὶ
ἀφθονίαι. ἐνταῦθα , γοῦν καὶ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ. μούσας
αὐτὸν φιλοσοφεῖν ot σοφοὶ τούτων φασί.

37. Ἢ γλαῦξ᾽ ἐπί τινα σπουδὴν ὡρμημένῳ
ἀνδρὶ συνοῦσα καὶ ἐπιστᾶσα οὐκ ἀγαθόν σύμβολόν
φασι. μαρτύριον δέ,8 ὁ ᾿Ηπειρώτης Πύρρος
ee εὐθὺ τοῦ "Ἄργους ἤει, καὶ αὐτῷ i θεν

3. εἴη. ; Ξ 1 eRe
“δ᾽ Reiske: καὶ καρδίαν.
6 τῷ (sc. Apollo) Oud, cp. 10. 14, 49; 11. 10.

33?

a
᾿
a8
:
Ἵ
᾿
᾿
Ἦν
:
/
:
:
ξ
|

ON ANIMALS, X. 35-37

‘When Partridges are sitti their th Ὧι
35. n ridg e sitting on their eggs they The ates

screen them with branches and other thick leafage
in order to keep out the dews and showers and every
kind of damp. For if their eggs get soaked, unless
the mother bird is quickly on the spot to warm them
again, they become sterile. Partridges lay as many
as fifteen eggs at a sitting. Theophrastus says
somewhere | fr. 182] that a double heart is to be seen
in the Partridges of Paphlagonia. Other sources
tells us that the Partridge is the darling of the
daughter of Zeus and Leto.*

36. 1 have indeed spoken earlier on about Swans, The Swan

once seen in the Libyan Sea, and that a melody was
heard proceeding from them as from a choir singing
in unison; and very sweet it was, although mournful
and calculated to move the hearers to pity. And.
some of the birds, he says, when the music was
ended were seen to have died. It seems that the
Swan is devoted to springs and pools and meres and:
to all spots where waters meet and abound. At any’
rate that is where those learned in these things say
that the bird meditates its music. :

37. If an Owl accompanies and stays beside a man
who has set out on some business, they say it is no
good omen. Witness the case of Pyrrhus of Epirus
who set out for Argos by night: this bird met him

@ Artemis.

7 ἐπίρροιαι. 8 δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖνο ἦν.

9255.

but I shall now relate what I did not mention then. _
Aristotle says [74 615 Ὁ 4] that a flock of Swans was

The Owl,

an evil omen

AELIAN

: “ὃ ¢ θ 7 ‘ > Ἀ - ὦ ᾽; ᾽ὔ
ἦδε ἡ ὄρνις καθημένῳ μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἵππου, φέροντί
\ f > f :
<ye>* μὴν τὸ δόρυ ὀρθόν. εἶτα ἐπὶ τούτου
κ 3 7 om
ἑαυτὴν ἐκάθισεν, οὐδὲ ἀπέστη, δορυφοροῦσα od

\ \ 7 3,
χρηστὴν τὴν δορυφορίαν ἡ ὄρνις ἡ προειρημένη
, 1” ᾿
5 ᾽ » Z er 4 μ᾿ hae καὶ :
ἀκλεέστατα ἀνθρώπων ἀπέθανεν. ἔνθεν μοι δοκεῖ

τήνδε. παρῆλθε γοῦν ὁ Πύρρος ἐς τὸ

καὶ “Ὅμηρος εἰδὼς καλῶς τῆς ὄρνιθος τὸ οὐδαμῆ
εὐσύμβολον ἐρῳδιὸν μὲν τὸν ἐκ τῶν ποταμῶν
ἀνεῖναι τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Διομήδην τὴν ᾿Αθηνᾶν
φάναι, ὅτε ἀπήεσαν κατασκεψόμενοι τὰ τῶν
Τρώων, μὴ μέντοι τὴν γλαῦκα, εἰ καὶ δοκεῖ φίλη
εἶναι αὐτῇ . ὅτι δὲ ἡ ᾿Ιλιὰς γῆ ἔνδροσός τε καὶ
κατάρρυτός ἐστιν, ὥμηρος τεκμηριῶσαι ἱκανὸς ἐν
τοῖς πρὸ τῆς τειχομαχίας. ᾿

58. Φοβερός ἐστι 3. τῷ καράβῳ 6 πολύπους.
ἐὰν γοῦν ἁλῶσί ποτε δικτύῳ ἑνί, ot κάραβοι
τεθνήκασι παραχρῆμα. Λουσίας δὲ ποταμὸς ἐν
Θουρίοις ὀνομάζεται, ὅσπερ οὖν ἔχει μὲν λευκότα-

= ξ 2 > 4 4 | ’ ᾿
τον ὑδάτων αὐτὸς καὶ ῥεῖ διειδέστατα, τίκτει. δὲ

3 “- --
ἰχθῦς μέλανας ἰσχυρῶς.

39. ᾿Άμπελον ὁμώνυμον τῷ φυτῷ πάρδαλίν τινα
οὕτω καλεῖσθαί φασι φύσεως ἰδίας παρὰ τὰς
λουπὰς μετειληχυῖαν, καὶ οὐρὰν οὐκ. ἔχειν ἀκούω
αὐτήν. ἥπερ οὖν εἰ ὀφθείη 8 γυναιξίν, ἐς νόσον
ἐμβάλλει ἀδόκητον αὐτάς.

3 ~ i “ /
40. Ἐν τῇ Σκυθίᾳ γῇ γίνονται ὄνοι κερασφόροι,
4 / “
καὶ στέγει TA κέρατα ἐκεῖνα TO ὕδωρ TO ᾿Αρκαδικὸν
1 {γεν add. Η. 2 ἐστι καὶ ἰσχυρός.
3 Schn: ὀφθῇ.
334

2;

ΡΝ,
i

FALL

Reese

ΣΟΙ
:
᾿
ΕἸ

So
sc
' Ἶ
ae
Ἕ
Ὦ
.

τ πο PS Cae EAMES ΠΩ 000.

ON ANIMALS, X. 37-40

as he was on horseback and bearing his lance erect.
Whereupon it perched upon the lance and would not
leave him: it was no safe lancer-guard that the bird I
named afforded him. At any rate Pyrrhus reached
Argos and met the most inglorious death in the
world.¢ That is why I think that Homer knowing
full well that the Owl was nowhere a favourable
omen, says [1. 10. 274] that Athena sent a heron
from the rivers to the comrades ὃ of Diomedes when
they went off to spy upon the Trojans’ camp—a
heron, not an owl, even though it appears to be her
favourite. And that the country about Troy is moist
and well-watered Homer can bear witness in the lines

that precede the Battle at the Wall [J/. 12. 18].

38 (i). The Octopus is the terror of the Crayfish. Octopus ana
At any rate if they chance to be caught in one and a a
the same net, the Crayfish dies on the spot.

(ii). There is a river at Thurii called the Lusias, of Black fish
which the water is of the purest and is absolutely.
transparent in its flow, and yet it produces fish of

a deep black hue.

39. They say that there is a leopard called the The
Ampelus, like the plant (i.e. grape-vine), and that its eee ia
nature is peculiar compared with other leopards; and
I have heard that it has no tail. If it is seen by

women it afflicts them with an unexpected ailment.

40. In Scythia there are Asses with horns, and The Horned
these horns hold water from the river of Arcadia gcythia

@ He was struck by a tile thrown by a woman from a house-
top. .
ὃ Odysseus alone accompanied D.

335

AELIAN
TO καλούμενον τῆς Στυγός" τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἀγγεῖα
διακόπτει πάντα, κἂν συδήρου πεποιημένα.
τούτων τοι τῶν κεράτων «(ἕν + ὑπὸ Σωπάτρου
κομισθῆναί φασιν ᾿Αλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Μακεδόνι, καὶ
ἐκεῖνον πυνθάνομαι θαυμάσαντα ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀνά-

θημα ἀναθεῖναι τῷ Πυθίῳ τὸ κέρας, καὶ ὑπογράψαι.

ταῦτα

σοὶ τόδ᾽ ᾿Αλέξανδρος Μακεδὼν κέρας ἄνθετο,
αιάν,
κάνθωνος Σκυθικοῦ, χρῆμά τι δαιμόνιον,
ὃ Στυγὸς ἀχράντῳ 8 Λουσηΐδος * οὐκ ἐδαμάσθη
ῥεύματι, βάσταξεν δ᾽ ὕδατος ἠνορέην.

Δημήτηρ δὲ a ἄρα τὸ ὕδωρ ἀνῆκε τοῦτο πλησίον De-
νεοῦ, τὴν δὲ αὐτίαν εἶπον ἀλλαχόθι.

41. Ἐῤπόλιδι τῷ τῆς κωμῳδίας ποιητῇ δίδωσι
δῶρον Αὐγέας ὁ τ ᾿Ἐλευσίνιος σκύλακα ἰδεῖν ὡραῖον,
Μολοττὸν τὸ “γένος, καὶ καλεῖ τοῦτον ὁ Ἐπολις
ὁμωνύμως τῷ δωρησαμένῳ αὐτόν. κολακευθεὶς
οὖν ταῖς τροφαῖς, καὶ ἐκ τῆς συνηθείας ὑπαχθεὶς
τῆς μακροτέρας, ἐφίλει τὸν δεσπότην ὃ “Αὐγέας ὁ
᾿ κύων. καί ποτε ὁμόδουλος αὐτῷ νεανίας, ὄνομα
᾿Εφιάλτης, ὑφαιρεῖται δράματά τινα τοῦ Βπόλιδος,
καὶ ὅ οὐκ ἔλαθε κλέπτων, ἀλλὰ εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ κύων,
καὶ ἐμπεσὼν ἀφειδέστατα δάκνων ἀπέκτεινεν.
χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον ἐν Αἰγίνῃ τὸν βίον ὁ Εὔπολις

κατέστρεψε, καὶ ἐτάφη ἐνταῦθα ὃ δὲ κύων

“ὠρυόμενός τε καὶ θρηνῶν τὸν τῶν κυνῶν θρῆνον,
1 <& add. H. 2 Kiihn: σχῆμα τό.
3 Brunck : ἀχράντου. 4 Reinestus: Λουσηθίδος.
Pes |

336

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:

ON ANIMALS, X. 40-41

known as the Styx; all other vessels the water cuts
through, even though they be made of iron. Now
one of these horns, they say, was brought by Sopater @
to Alexander of Macedon, and I learn that he in his
admiration set up the horn as a votive offering to the
Pythian god at Delphi, with this inscription beneath
it:
‘In thine honour, O God of Healing, Alexander
of Macedon set up this horn from a Scythian ass,
a marvellous piece, which was not subdued by the
untainted stream of the Lusean ὃ Styx but with-
stood the strength of its water.’

It was Demeter who caused this water to well up in
the neighbourhood of Pheneus, and the reason for it
I have stated elsewhere.¢

4]. Augeas of Eleusis gave Eupolis, the writer of Bupolis and
comedies, a hound of fine appearance, a Molossian, cai
which Eupolis named after the donor. Now Augeas
the hound, pampered in its feeding and influenced
by long association with its master, came to love him.

On one occasion a young fellow-slave of the name of
Ephialtes stole some plays of Eupolis, and the theft
did not pass unnoticed, for the hound saw him, fell
upon him, and, biting him mercilessly, killed him.
Some time afterwards Eupolis ended his days in
Aegina and was buried there, and the hound, howl-
ing and lamenting after the manner of dogs, let:
α Writer of burlesques, lived at Alexandria. ὦ

ὃ Lusi, a town in northern Arcadia.
¢ In no surviving work,

337

AELIAN

Ss / / “~
εἶτα μέντοι λύπῃ καὶ λιμῷ ἑαυτὸν ἐκτήξας ἀπέθα-

"» \ σι - Ἀ / /
νεν ἐπὶ τῷ τροφεῖ καὶ δεσπότῃ, μισήσας τὸν βίον
7

t 7 , 0 “a : ~~

ὃ κύων. καὶ 6 ye τόπος καλεῖται μνήμῃ τοῦ τότε
΄ Ἁ ~ ἢ

πάθους Kuves Θρῆνος. |

42. Μύρμηκος εἶδος θανατηφόρου φασὶν εἶναί '

\ 7
τι, καὶ λαέρτην ὄνομα ἔχειν τὄνδε τὸν μύρμηκα.
\ ΄-"» 4
Kat σφῆκας δέ twas ἐκάλουν λαέρτας. λέγει
~ 7 ~
ταῦτα ἴήλεφος ὁ κριτικὸς ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Μυσίου

Περγάμου.

48, Διὰ τοῦ θέρους τοῦ πυρωδεστάτου τὰ τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων πεδία ὁ Νεῖλος ἐπικλύσας ὄψιν μὲν
αὐτοῖς θαλάττης ἡπλωμένης καὶ λείας δίδωσι, καὶ
ἁλιεύουσι κατὰ τῆς τέως ἀρουμένης Αἰγύπτιοι,
καὶ πλέουσι σκάφαις ἐς ταύτην τὴν ὥραν καὶ τήνδε
τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ ποταμοῦ πεποιημέναις. εἶτα ὃ
μὲν ὑπονοστεῖ καὶ ἐς τὰ ἑαυτοῦ μέτρα ὑποστρέφει
τὰ ἐκ τῆς φύσεως of} νενομισμένα, ἰχθῦς δὲ 3
χῆροι τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἔρημοι τοῦ ἀναπλεύσαντος
ὕδατος ὑπολείπονται,3 ἐν ἰλύι παχείᾳ * τρεφόμενοι
γεωργοῖς δεῖπνον. καὶ βιαιότερον μὲν εἰρήσεται,
ἄμητος δ᾽ οὖν ἰχθύων οὗτός ἐστιν Αἰγύπτιος.

44. Τένη δὲ ἄρα καὶ τεττίγων οὐκ ὀλίγα ἦν,
καὶ αὐτὰ οἱ δεινοὶ {ταῦτα ὅ εἰδέναι ἀριθμοῦσι,
καὶ ὀνόματα ἄδουσιν αὐτῶν. 6 μὲν γὰρ τεφρὰς ἐκ
τῆς χρόας ὀνομάζεται, ὁ δὲ ἄρα μέμβραξ ὁπόθεν 5

in = » ? ”

> Ω \ Ω
οὐκ οἶδα, καὶ λακέτας δὲ ἦν ἄρα τέττιγος ὄνομα,

\ 7 9 “~
Kat κερκώπην 7 ἀκοῇ. παρεδεξάμην καὶ ἀχέταν

¢ + ™ 3. ἢ am
1 οὗ αὐτῆς ἀεί. 2 δὲ ἐκεῖνοι,

338

Sera

rategutegtworieptt
BEM Dee

ERNIE

πέδην

Bib Gs3i.2 2

i SLIP aI EPS Bs I RU Lp OE: RN BRE

t
1

ON ANIMALS, X. 41-44

himself pine away through grief and starvation and,
disgusted with life, died soon after on the grave of
the master that had fed it. And in memory of the
sad event the place is named Hound's Dirge.

42. They say that there is a species of deadly Ant, The __
and that it goes by the name of Laertes. The name cade
has also been applied to certain kinds of Wasp. This wasp
is what Telephus the grammarian from Pergamum

in Mysia says.

48. All through the hottest summer the Nile in Fish in the
flood gives the fields of Egypt the appearance of a Pee
calm stretch of open sea, and over what was till then
ploughland there the Egyptians fish and sail in boats
manufactured against that season and against this
visitation by the river. Later the river retreats and.
yeturns to within its naturally proper limits, while the.
fish bereft of their sire and abandoned by the flood-
water are left behind, nurtured in the thick slime to
provide a meal for the farmers. This then, though
the expression is somewhat violent, is the Egyptian
fish-harvest.

44, There are, it seems, many species of Cicada, The Cicada:
and those who are skilled in these matters enumerate ings -
them and report their names. Thus, the Ashen one
is so called from its colour; whence the Membraz
got its name I do not know; and Charper, it appears,
is the name for a Cicada; and I have heard tell of the

Long-tail and the Shriller and the Prickly one. Well,

?
4 πραχείᾳ.
6 - ¢ 40
τοῦτο ὁπόθεν.

8. ὑπαπολείπονται.
5 <ratra> add. ἢ.
? WDindorf: κερκώπαν.

339

Se aac ese rrr ererererrrrarrverrrnrmnvOimricirerremrenererrenreetuivansiateta on eet A sa I ENS A NT ERS οοταδ

AELIAN

4 . 3 la On i. ᾿
τινὰ καὶ ἀκάνθιον. ἐγὼ μὲν (οὖν 1 τοσαῦτα

,ὔ 5» 7 4
τεττίγων ἀκούσας γένη μέμνημαι: ὅτῳ δὲ Kal
- : 7 ? A i
πλείω τῶν προειρημένων ἐς γνῶσιν ἀφίκετο,
λεγέτω ἐκεῖνος. | ΕΝ

45 ᾿ Καὶ ταῦτα μέντοι κυνῶν προσακήκοα. τὰ
σκυλάκια τυφλὰ τίκτεται, καὶ οὐχ ὁρᾷ τῆς μητρῴας
ὠδῖνος προελθόντα. καὶ τρισκαίδεκα ἡμερῶν τῶν
πρώτων κατείληπται τῷ πάθει τῷδε, ὅσων καὶ ἡ
σελήνη οὐ φαίνει νύκτωρ, εἶτα μέντοι ξῴων
ὀξυωπέστατος γίνεται 6 κύων. τιμῶσι δὲ αὐτὸν

᾿ Αἰγύπτιοι, καὶ νομόν τινα ἐκάλεσαν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ

τῆς γε τιμῆς διπλῆν εἶναι τὴν αἰτίαν φασί, τὴν
(μὲν) 2 λέγουσαν ὅτι ἄρα τῆς "Ισιδος ζητούσης
πανταχόσε τὸν “Oowpw κύνες προηγούμενοι τὰ μὲν
ἐπειρῶντο συνανιχνεύειν αὐτῇ τὸν παῖδα, τὰ δὲ
ἀναστέλλειν τὰ θηρία' ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα, ὅτι ἄρα ἤδη
μὲν ἀνατέλλει τὸ ἄστρον ὃ κύων, ὃν ᾿Ωρίωνος ἡ
φήμη γενέσθαι λέγει, συνανίσχει δὲ αὐτῷ τρόπον
τινὰ καὶ ὁ Νεῖλος ἐπιὼν ἐς τὴν ἀρδείαν τῆς γῆς
τῆς Αἰγυπτίας, καὶ ἀναχεῖται περὶ τὰς ἀρούρας.
ὡς οὖν ἄγοντα τόδε τὸ γόνιμον ὕδωρ καὶ παρακα-
“λοῦντα τιμῶσιν Αἰγύπτιοι.

3 ᾽ 4 2 \ “
, 46. Οξύρυγχος οὕτως 5. ἐχθὺς κέκληται, καὶ
ἔοικεν ἐκ τοῦ προσώπου λαβεῖν τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τοῦ
fan) 3
σχήματος τοῦ κατ᾽ αὐτό. τρέφει δὲ ἄρα τὸν

1 <oty> add. H.

9 )
8 Schn: οὗτος. ζμέν» add. Schn.

* Cynopolis, close to Oxyrhynchus.
340 |

exchcantat elit Oe LDU LARISA OAS EERE,

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ΕῚ
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ΕΗ
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ΕἾ
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x
:
Se
ε
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ES
&
δ
<4
ΕἸ
nd
BY
.
i
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᾿
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ΕῚ
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ON ANIMALS, X. 44-46

these are all the kinds of Cicada of which I remember

having heard the names, but if anyone has got to
know more than those that I have mentioned, he

must tell them.

45. Here are further facts relating to Dogs which The Dog

I have heard. Puppies are born blind, and when
they emerge from their dam’s womb they cannot see.
For the first fortnight they are afflicted in this way,
that is for as many nights as the moon does not
appear, but after that the Dog has the sharpest sight
of any animal. And it is held in honour by the

Egyptians, for they have named a district @ after it,

and they assert that the reason for this is twofold :
first, when Isis was seeking everywhere for Osiris,”
Dogs led the way and tried both to help her to trace
his son and also to keep off the wild beasts. And the
second reason is this, that at the same time that the
Dog-star rises (the story goes that it was the dog of
Orion), the Nile also in a sense rises, coming up to
water the land of Egypt, and pours over the plough-
lands. And so the Egyptians pay honour to the
Dog for bringing and summoning this fertilising
water.

46. There is a fish that goes by the name of
Oxyrhynchus,¢ and it appears to derive its name from
its face and from the shape of it. The Nile breeds

> Osiris was the husband of Isis; he was murdered by his
brother Typhon. * Plut. de Is. et Os. 356F tells how Osiris,
mistaking Nephthys for her sister Isis, begat upon her Anubis.
Isis sought for ‘ his son’ to help in her search for the body of
Osiris.
¢ That is, ‘ sharp-snouted.’
| 341

πα Σου NYA ANTAL INIT NTN

honoured
i

n Egypt

The ‘ Oxy~
rhynchus ’
fish

ASSASSIN EA NSS NLT ERY EATS RVR IRA RSP IRR CO MRC σὸν SY

AELIAN

προειρημένον 6 Νεῖλος, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ
κέκληται νομὸς ἔνθα δήπου καὶ τιμὰς ὁ ἰχθὺς ἔχει
ὁ αὐτός. ἀγκίστρῳ δὲ θηραθέντα ἰχθὺν οὐκ ἄν
ποτε φάγοιεν οἵδε οἱ ἄνδρες, δεδιότες μή ποτε ἄρα

> ΄- \ v ¢
αὐτῷ περιπαρεὶς ἔτυχεν ὁ παρὰ σφίσιν ἱερὸς καὶ.
\ 3 \ [4] >
θαυμαστὸς ἰχθὺς ὃν εἶπον. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ δικτύοις

ἁλῶσί ποτε ἰχθύες, ἀνιχνεύουσι ταῦτα, μὴ παρα-
λαθὼν ἐνέπεσεν ἐκεῖνος, καὶ προτιμῶσιν ἀθηρίαν
ἢ ἁλόντος ἐκείνου τὴν μάλιστα εὐθηρίαν. λέγουσι
δὲ αὐτὸν οἵ περίχωροι ἐκ τῶν ᾿Οσίριδος τραυμάτων
γεγονέναι: νοοῦσι δὲ τὸν "Οσιριν apa τὸν αὐτὸν
τῷ Νείλῳ εἶναι.

47. Ὃ δὲ ἐχνεύμων ὁ αὐτὸς dpa καὶ ἄρρην καὶ
θῆλυς ἦν, μετειληχὼς καὶ τῆσδε τῆς φύσεως καὶ
τῆσδε, καὶ σπείρειν τε καὶ τίκτειν τῷ αὐτῷ 1 ἡ
φύσις δέδωκεν. ἀποκρίνονται δὲ ἐς τὸ ἀτιμότερον
γένος οἱ ἡττηθέντες κατὰ μάχην 3: οἱ γὰρ κρατή-
σαντες ἀναβαίνουσι τοὺς ἡττημένους καὶ ἐς αὐτοὺς
σπείρουσιν. οὗ δὲ ἄθλον τῆς ἥττης φέρονται
ὠδῖνάς τε ὑπομεῖναι καὶ ἀντὶ πατέρων 8 γενέσθαι
μητέρες. τοῖς γε μὴν πολεμιωτάτοις ἀνθρώπῳ
ζῴοις, ἀσπίδι καὶ κροκοδίλῳ, ἔχθιστον ὃ ἰχνεύμων,
καὶ τόν γε πόλεμον αὐτῶν ἀνωτέρω εἶπον. λέγον-
ται δὲ οἱ ἰχνεύμονες ἱεροὶ εἶναι. Λητοῦς καὶ
Ἰυὐλειθυιῶν- σέβουσι δὲ αὐτοὺς “Ηρακλεοπολῖται,"
ὥς φασιν.

1 rots αὐτοῖς.

9 4 4
\ 5 4 Fol ? > 4 eae id μ'
καὶ UTEP TOV TEWS AVTL TT.

4 αὐτοὺς Αἰγύπτιοι ‘H.

342

Sh

Eh

“ὃ

LE es eas το ΤΟΣ ΔΙ το τ δος ἐν τον Ὁ ΠΟ; τ τὸν

ES OO SEE ΤῸΝ

ON ANIMALS, X. 46-47

the aforesaid fish; and after it too® a district 18
named, where, I believe, this same fish is held in
veneration. Should the inhabitants catch a fish on
a hook they will never eat it for fear lest the afore-
said fish, which they regard as sacred and to be
worshipped, may have chanced to impale itself on
the hook. And whenever fish are netted, they
search the nets in case this famous fish has fallen in
without their noticing it. And they would rather
catch nothing at all than have the largest catch
which included this fish. And the people who live
round about maintain that it was born from the
wounds of Osiris. They identify Osiris with the
Nile.

47. The Ichneumon is both male and female in
the same individual, partaking of both sexes, and
Nature has enabled each single same animal both.
to procreate and to give. birth. Those that are
worsted in a fight are degraded into the less honoured
class, for the victors. mount the vanquished and
inseminate them. And the latter carry with them
as prize of their defeat endurance of birth-pangs
and motherhood for fatherhood. The Ichneumon
is most hateful to man’s deadliest enemies, the asp
and the crocodile: I have earlier on described how
they war with each other.? Ichneumons are said

40 be sacred to Leto and the Goddesses of Birth,

and the people of Heracleopolis worship them, so
they say.
¢ That is, like the Dog in ch. 45. Oxyrhynchus lay on the

W side of the Nile between lat, 28 and 29; Cynopolis lay on

the opposite bank. |
> See 3. 22 and 8. 25. "" ,

343

AELIAN

48. Λυκάονι τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς ᾿Ημαθίας γίνεται"
“a + ®@
mais, ὄνομα Μακεδών, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἡ χώρα κέκληται.

A ~ 3 > - 37 3 7 7
μετὰ ταῦτα TO ἀρχαῖον ὄνομα οὐκέτι φυλάξασα
4 1 »# - 3 a > ᾿ : .
τούτῳ δὲ ἄρα παῖς ἀνδρεῖος ἦν καὶ κάλλει διαπρε-
i i 3) Ss “A
ans, Πίνδος ὄνομα: ἦσαν δέ ot καὶ ἄλλοι παῖδες,

> ἡ δὲ cM ‘ \ ‘ 4 ~ .
ἀνόητοι δὲ οὗτοι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα οὐ

ῥωμαλέοι, οἵπερ οὖν χρόνῳ ὕστερον βασκήναντες
τἀδελφῷ τῆς τε ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς ἄλλης εὐδαιμονίας
ἐκεῖνον μὲν διέφθειραν, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ ἐπαπώλεσαν
διδόντες δίκην κατὰ τὴν Δίκην. αἰσθόμενος γὰρ
ὅδε ὁ Ilivdos τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐς ἑαυτὸν
ἐπιβουλήν, τὴν πατρῴαν ἀρχὴν ἀπέλιπεν, ret δὲ
ἐν χώρῳ, καὶ ἣν τῇ τε ἄλλῃ ῥωμαλέος, καὶ οὖν
καὶ κυνηγετικὸς ἦν. καί ποτε ἐθήρα νεβρούς. καὶ
οἱ μὲν ἔθεον ἡ ποδῶν εἶχον, ὃ δὲ μεταδιώκων εἶτα
| μέντοι τὸν ἵππον ἀνὰ κράτος ἤλαυνε, καὶ τῶν μὲν
συνθηρατῶν ἀποσπᾷ πολύ, οἱ νεβροὶ δὲ ἐς φάραγγα
κοίλην τε καὶ βαθυτάτην ἐσδύντες καὶ ἑαυτοὺς
σώσαντες ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦ διώκοντος ἠφανίσθη-
σαν. οὐκοῦν ἀποπηδήσας τοῦ ἵππου ὃ Ilivéos
ἐκεῖνον μὲν τοῦ ῥυμοῦ πρός τι τῶν παρεστώτων
ἐξῆψε δένδρων, αὐτὸς δὲ οἷος ἣν τὴν φάραγγα
vepevvdy καὶ μαστεύειν τοὺς προειρημένους.
εἶτα ἀκούει φωνῆς, καὶ ἔλεγεν αὕτη τῶν νεβρῶν
μὴ ἅψαι᾽. οὐκοῦν ἐπεὶ πολλὰ. περιβλέψας οὐδὲν
ἐθεάσατο, ἔδεισε τὸ φώνημα ὡς EK τινος αἰτίας
κρείττονος προσπεσόν. καὶ τότε μὲν ᾧχετο ἀπιὼν
καὶ τὸν ἵππον ἀπάγων, τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ μόνος
ἀφικνεῖται, καὶ πάρεισι μὲν ἐς τὴν φάραγγα οὐδαμῶς
μνήμῃ τε τῆς φωνῆς. τῆς προσπεσούσης αὐτοῦ ταῖς
ἀκοαῖς καὶ δέει. στρέφοντι δ᾽ ἐν ἑαυτῷ βουλὴν
καὶ διαποροῦντι τίς ἣν dpa 6 τῇ προτεραίᾳ ἀναστεί-

”

344

we

Ποὺ

sii

7p BS

ξ

ΞΕ
ἘΣ TE πο ον ἄν παν EE Be

Hates

USUI ΤΣ SIPS YSIS SRE EIS SE SES eae

ὦ:

PM
x
ad
Sak
ee
ΕΝ
ΕῚ
8g
:
ΕἸ
8

Ν

ON ANIMALS, X. 48

. 48. To Lycaon King of Emathia was born a son T
of the name of Macedon, after whom the country ¢ Serpent”

has.thenceforward been called, no longer preserving.
its ancient name. Now his son was a vigorous youth
of remarkable beauty and his name was Pindus.
Other sons he had besides, but they were foolish in
spirit and not robust of body, and so in course of time
growing jealous of the valour and the general good
fortune of their brother, they slew him; but it was to
their own undoing, and they paid the penalty as was
right. For Pindus realising that his brothers were
plotting against him, left his father’s kingdom and
lived in the country. And besides being vigorous in.
other respects he was also a great hunter. And on
one occasion he was pursuing some fawns, and they
fied as fast as their legs could carry them, while he
rode at full speed in pursuit, leaving his fellow hunts-
men far behind. But the fawns entered a hollow
and very deep ravine, escaped out of their pursuer’s
sight, and disappeared. Accordingly Pindus leapt
from his horse and fastened it by the rein to one of
the trees hard by and was just about to investigate
the ravine and to search for the fawns, when he
heard a voice which said ‘ Touch not the fawns!”
And so after looking all round and seeing nothing, he
was in fear of the voice, thinking that it proceeded
from some mightier agency. And then he departed
taking his horse with him. But on the follow-
ing day he came unaccompanied, but remember-
ing the voice that had fallen on his ears and being:
afraid, he did not: enter the ravine. - And while he,
was taking council with himself and was perplexed

1 βοῆς. |
345:

he story of

Serpent

AELIAN

2. 4 “--- 3 ᾿ “
Aas αὐτὸν τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἄγραν ὁρμῆς, καὶ περιβλέ-
?

@ 2 i)
ποντι οἷα εἰκὸς ἢ νομέας ὀρείους 1 ἢ Onpards

¢ #? - / al c «-

ἑτέρους, μέγα TL χρῆμα ὁρᾶται δράκων τὸ μὲν

πλεῖστον τοῦ σώματος ἐπισύρων, ὀλίγην 8. δὲ

3 id ct \ >

ἀνατείνας ὡς πρὸς αὐτὸ ὃ τὴν δέρην * (καὶ ἣν ἡ δέρη
A ?

σὺν τῇ κεφαλῇ ὑπὲρ τέλειον ἄνδρα τὸ μέγεθος),

εἶτα ὀφθεὶς ἐξέπληξεν. οὐ μὴν ἐς φυγὴν 6 Πψδος
ἐξώρμησεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀθροίσας ἑαυτὸν σοφίᾳ περιέρχεται
τὸν θῆρα: τῶν γὰρ ὀρνίθων ὧν θηράσας ὃ ἔτυχε
προσήγαγε, καὶ προὔτεινέν οἱ ξένια ταῦτα καὶ
ἑαυτοῦ ζωάγρια. ὃ δέ, οἷα δήπου τοῖς δώροις μει-
λιχθεὶς καὶ καταγοητευθεὶς ὡς ἂν εἴποις, ᾧχετο
ἀπιών. ταῦτα τὸν νεανίαν Hoe, καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν
ἀπέφερε τῷ δράκοντι μισθὸν σωτηρίας, ὡς ἄνθρω-
πος ἀγαθός, ὧν εἶχε θηραμάτων ἀπαρχὰς κεχαρι-
σμένας ἢ τῆς ἄγρας τῆς ὀρείου ἢ τῆς πτηνῆς. καὶ
τῷ μὲν τὰ τῆς προειρημένης δωροφορίας ἐνεργό-
Tara ἦν, ὑπήρχετο δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ δαίμονος
εὐθενεῖσθαι τῷ Πώδῳ, καὶ ὁσημέραι χωρεῖν ἐς
τὸ σοβαρώτερον' ᾿ θηρῶντι γὰρ ἀπήντων εὐθηρίαι,
ὅσαι τε τῶν ἐν ταῖς ὕλαις ζῴων, τῶν τε
ὀρνίθων ὅσαι. ἣν οὖν αὐτῷ καὶ περιβολή, καὶ
διεῖρπε μέντοι καὶ κλέος ὡς ὁμόσε τοῖς θηρίοις
ἰόντος καὶ ἀτρέπτως αἱροῦντος αὐτά: ἦν δὲ καὶ
ἰδεῖν μέγας καὶ οἷος ἐκπλῆξαι τῷ τε ὄγκῳ τοῦ
σώματος καὶ τῇ εὐεξίᾳ προσέτι, τῇ δὲ ὥρᾳ τὸ
θῆλυ πᾶν ἀναφλέγων ὃ καὶ ἐς ἑαυτὸν ἐξάπτων Hv
δῆλος. καὶ ἐφοίτων ἐπὶ θύρας τὰς ἐκείνου οἷα
δήπου βεβακχευμέναι ὅσον μὲν τῶν 7 γυναικῶν ἣν
a ὀρειους ἢ αὔλιον. 2 ὀλίγον.

346

ater
Ἢ
ES.

ATE ar eh gi st US NE

ΣΟ TAOS ESI OE IS

DEE EELS

ON ANIMALS, X. 48

as to who it was that the day before had checked his
pursuit of the quarry, and while he was looking about,
as was natural, for shepherds on the hills or other
hunters, he beheld a monstrous serpent trailing most
of its body behind but with the neck, which was
small compared with the rest of the body, held
aloft. (Neck and head together exceeded in size
that of a full-grown man.) The sight filled him
with terror. Pindus however did not take to flight,
but pulled himself together and by his adroitness
tricked the serpent, for he brought forward the
birds which he happened to have caught and offered
them as friendly gifts and as a ransom for his own
life. And the serpent mollified presumably and
bewitched, as you might say, by the gifts, departed.
This pleased the youth and thereafter, being a good
man, he used to bring payment for the saving of his
life to the serpent, giving freely the firstfruits of the
chase, whether beast or bird from the hills. And
this bestowal of gifts had the most fruitful results

for Pindus, and his fortune began to prosper and

grew every day more impressive, for whether it was
beasts of the forest or whether it was birds, with all
of them his hunting was successful. Accordingly
he enjoyed abundance; moreover his fame spread
abroad, of how he fearlessly attacked and captured
wild beasts. His figure was tall and such as to cause.
astonishment by reason of the bulk of his body and
of his splendid condition also. And it was clear that
his beauty inflamed and kindled the hearts of all
women with desire for him: all who were widowed
would throng his doors like people crazed, while

et

νὴ Α - ,
μὲν τῶν] μέντοι.

347

AKELIAN

χῆρον, αἵ γε μὴν συνοικοῦσαι τοῖς γεγαμηκόσι
ρουρούμεναι μὲν τῷ νόμῳ, τῷ κλέει
κάλλους τοῦ κατὰ τὸν IJlivdov δεδουλωμέναι
προὐτίμων συνοικεῖν ἐκείνῳ ἢ θεαὶ γεγονέγαι
καὶ ἐτεθήπεσάν γε αὐτὸν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν

1 5 iD ry
και ἐφίλουν, ἐχθροὶ δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ μόνοι ἦσαν. καί

ποτε θηρῶντα ἐλλοχῶσι μόνον, καὶ ποταμοῦ γε ἦν
ὴ θήρα πλησίον, εἶτα ἐρήμῳ συμμάχων οἱ τρεῖς
ἐπιστάντες ἔπαιον τοῖς ξίφεσιν αὐτόν, ὃ δὲ ἐβόα.
ἀκούει ταῦτα ὁ ἑταῖρος αὐτοῦ δράκων: ὀξυήκοον
δὲ καὶ ὀξυωπέστατον τὸ ζῷόν ἐστιν. οὐκοῦν
πρόεισι τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κοίτης, καὶ τοῖς ἀνοσίοις περι-
πλακεὶς ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτοὺς ἐς πνῖγμα ἄγχων: αὐ-
τὸς δὲ οὐ κατέλυσε τὴν φυλακήν, ἔστε 1 οὗ προοσ-
ἥκοντες τῷ νεανίᾳ ποθοῦντες αὐτὸν ἀφίκοντο, καὶ
ἐνέτυχον κειμένῳ. καὶ ὠλοφύροντο μέν, προσελ-
θεῖν δὲ ἐπὶ κηδεύσει τοῦ νεκροῦ οὐκ ἐτόλμων
δέει τοῦ φρουροῦ. ὁ δὲ συνεὶς φύσει τινὶ
ἀπορρήτῳ ὅτι ἀναστέλλει αὐτούς, ᾧχετο ἀπιὼν
κατὰ πολλὴν τὴν σχολήν, ἀπολιπὼν ἐκεῖνον τῆς
τελευταίας ἐκ τῶν προσηκόντων χάριτος τυχεῖν.
οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐτάφη μεγαλοπρεπῶς καὶ ὁ γείτων τῷ
φόνῳ ποταμὸς ἐκλήθη llivdos ἐκ τοῦ νεκροῦ καὶ
τοῦ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν τάφου. ἴδιον μὲν δὴ τῶν ζῴων
ἐκτίνειν χάριτας τοῖς εὐεργέταις, ἧπερ οὖν καὶ
ἄνω λέλεκται, καὶ νῦν δὲ οὐχ ἥκιστα.

49. ᾿Ιδίᾳ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἵ )
: T

Pee αἱ ἐν τῇ Κλάρῳ τὸν Διὸς καὶ

τοῦς τιμῶσιν ot Κλάριοι καὶ πᾶν τὸ “Ἑλληνικόν.

~ 3 lan “ “ ΕΝ ees

οὐκοῦν ὁ ἐνταῦθα χῶρος τοῖς ἰοβόλοις θηρίοις

4. -΄Ἀ '
ἀστιβής τε ἅμα Kal ἔχθιστός ἐστι, τοῦτο μὲν Kal

?
1 ἐστ᾽ ἄν.

348

\ .
€ τοῦ

Γ᾿

eens

ΠΣ

SBE

sig

τυραν

SOS

σέ, EEE SOI ED EE IODA

LSI SRO SNE

ON ANIMALS, ΣΧ. 48-49

those who were married to husbands and whom
custom confined indoors were enslaved by the fame
of Pindus’s beauty and would rather have been his
wife than become goddesses. As to the men, most
of them admired and loved him; only his brothers
hated him. And once when he was hunting by
himself they lay in wait for him, and the hunting-
ground was near a river, and the three set upon him
as he had none to help him and smote him with their
swords. Whereupon he cried aloud. His cry was
heard by his companion the serpent. (This creature
is keen of hearing and has very sharp eyes.) And so
it emerged from its lair and coiling round the mis-
creants killed them by choking them to death. But
the snake continued to mount guard until the youth’s
relations, who were anxious for him, arrived and
found him lying dead. But though they made lamen-
tation for him they did not dare to attend to the dead
body for fear of its guardian. The serpent however

realising by some mysterious instinct that it was

keeping them away, departed at a very leisurely pace,
leaving Pindus to receive the last kind service from
his kin.
and the river which was close by the scene of murder
was called Pindus after the dead man and the tomb
over him. It.is then a characteristic of animals to
render thanks to their benefactors, as I have stated
earlier on, and especially on this occasion.

49. Particularly in Clarus do the inhabitants and Geen free

all Greeks pay honour to the son of Zeus and Leto.*
And so the land there is untrodden by poisonou
creatures and is also highly obnoxious to them.

2 “Apollo.
349

And so he was buried with great pomp,

noxious
S creatures

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, X. 49-50
--- ~ f “- / εὐ | ᾿
τῇ τοῦ δαίμονος βουλῇ, πάντως δὲ καὶ πεφρικότων
~ 3 4 4
τῶν θηρίων αὐτὸν ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸν σώζειν 1 εἰδότα,
‘ A ~
καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν σωτῆρα Kal νόσων ἀντίπαλον
7 μ
Ασκληπιὸν 3 φύσαντα. ἀλλὰ 8 καὶ Νίκανδρος οἷς

The god wills it so, and the creatures in any case
dread him, since the god can not only save life but is
also the begetter of Asclepius, man’s saviour and
champion against diseases. Moreover Nicander

λέγω μάρτυς. λέγει δὲ Νίκανδρος

οὐκ ἔχις οὐδὲ φάλαγγες ἀπεχθέες οὐδὲ βαθυπλὴξ

ἄλσεσιν ἐνζώει * σκορπίος ἐν Κλαρίοις,
~ ? f “~ 5
Φοῖβος ἐπεί ῥ᾽ αὐλῶνα βαθὺν μελίῃσι ® καλύψας
4 f lal τ
ποίηρὸν δάπεδον θῆκεν ἑκὰς δακετῶν.

_ ὅ0. ᾿Ακούω λεγόντων ἐν "Epunt, ἔνθα δήπου καὶ
ὁ τῆς Αφροδίτης ὑμνούμενος νεώς ἐστιν, οὗπερ
οὖν καὶ ἀνωτέρω μνήμην ὃ ἐποιησάμην τῶν ἐκεῖθ
t

περιστερῶν εἰπὼν τὰ ἴδια, εἶναι μὲν καὶ χρυσὸν
πολὺν καὶ ἄργυρον πάμπλειστον καὶ ὅρμους καὶ
δακτυλίους μέγα τιμίους, ἄσυλα δὲ εἶναι καὶ
ἄψαυστα ταῦτα τῷ τῆς θεοῦ δέει, καὶ ἀεὶ τοὺς
ἄνω τοῦ χρόνου δι᾿ αἰδοῦς ἄγειν θαυμαστῆς καὶ
τὴν δαίμονα τὴν προειρημένην καὶ τὰ κειμήλια
ἐκείνης. Αμίλκαν δὲ πυνθάνομαι τὸν Λίβυν
συλήσαντα αὐτὰ καὶ ἐργασάμενον χρυσίον καὶ
ἀργύριον εἶτα μέντοι διανεῖμαι τῇ στρατιᾷ πονη-
pay νομὴν, καὶ ὕπερ τούτων αὐτὸν ἀλγεινότατα καὶ
αρύτατα αἰκισθέντα ἅμα καὶ κολασθέντα κρεμα-

σθῆναι, πᾶν δὲ ὅσον αὐτῷ τῆς πράξεως καὶ τῆς
ἐκδίκου θεοσυλίας ἐγένετο μέτοχον βιαίοις τε καὶ
δεινοῖς χρήσασθαι θανάτοις, ἥ τε πατρὶς αὐτοῦ
εὐδαιμονιζομένη Tews” καὶ ζηλωτὴ δοκοῦσα ἐν
ὀλίγαις τῶν ἱερῶν χρημάτων ἐσκομισθέντων ἡ δὲ
δούλη ἦν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς τὴν παροῦσάν μοι
αὐτὸν σώζειν] σώζειν θεόν. 2 τὸν "A.

35°

ἊΣ

LDL

ys

ste

Ὡς. τ ΠΤ τ΄ τ πὸ πφξ π-πτ π᾿

nism ΟΣ

ΤΕΣ
Seas

payee ante ALATEST ti

Z

also bears witness to what I say, and his words are:

‘No viper, nor harmful spiders, nor deep-
wounding scorpion dwell in the groves of Clarus,
for Apollo veiled its deep grotto with ash-trees
and purged its grassy floor of noxious creatures ἡ

[Nic. fr. 811.

50. I have heard it said that in Eryx, where of
course the famous temple of Aphrodite is (the pigeons
there and their peculiarities I mentioned earlier on),*
there is a store of gold, an immense store of silver,
necklaces, and finger-rings of great price; and that
dread of the goddess renders them safe from robbers
and untouched; and that men in ancient times
always regarded the aforesaid goddess and her
treasures with veneration and awe. But 1 learn that
Hamilear the Carthaginian ἢ looted these objects,
melted down the silver. and gold, and then dis-
tributed an infamous largesse to his troops. And
for these deeds he suffered the. most painful and
grievous torments and was punished with crucifixion,
while all his accomplices and partners in that unholy
sacrilege died violent and terrible deaths. And his
native land which till then was so prosperous and

@ See 4. 2.
> Defeated at Himera and killed, 480 8.6. ; see Hdt. 7. 165-7.

3 ἀλλά γε. 4 Bernhardy : ἐν ζῴοις.
5 OSchn: μελίαισι. 8 γὴν μνήμην.
7 αὐτοῦ εὐ. τέως ὡς εὖ. τέως αὐτῷ MSS, ὡς del. Jac.

351

The worship
of Aphrodite

at Eryx

AELIAN ’

, 1 » ov ? δ τὰ Ε Ἢ :
χρείαν σεμνὰ ὄντα ouws οὐχ ορᾷ πω, τὸ δὲ τοῖς

λόγοις, (τοῖσδε 1 συμμελὲς 2 otro εἰρήσεται.
ava πᾶν ἔτος καὶ ἡμέραν πᾶσαν θύουσι τῇ 8 θεῷ
καὶ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι καὶ οἱ ξένοι. καὶ ὁ μὲν βωμὸς
ὑπὸ τῷ οὐρανῷ ὁ μέγιστός ἐστι, πολλῶν δὲ ἐπ
αὐτοῦ 4 καθαγιζομένων θυμάτων ὁ δὲ πανημέριος
καὶ ἐς νύκτα ἐξάπτεται. ἕως ὅ δὲ ὃ ὑπολάμπει
καὶ ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀνθρακιάν, οὐ σποδόν, οὐχ ἡμι-

/ ~
Kavtwv* τρύφη δαλῶν ὃ ὑποφαίνει, δρόσου δὲ.

3 ? λ 3 f ~ 4 ἐν 3 ae
ἀνάπλεώς ἐστι Kal πόας νεαρᾶς, ἥπερ οὖν ἀναφύεται
? 7 / \ a :
ὅσαι νύκτες. τά ye μὴν ἱερεῖα ἑκάστης ἀγέλης
? ? “~ tr Fant 7 ~
αὐτόματα φοιτᾷ καὶ τῷ βωμῷ παρέστηκεν,
ad 4 3 S
ἄγει δὲ ἄρα αὐτὰ πρώτη μὲν ἡ θεός, εἶτα ἡ
7 ,ὔ " ¢ “~ 4
ὕναμίς τε Kal ἡ τοῦ θύοντος βούλησις. εἰ γοῦν
3 f ~ > 2 ΄-- ~
ἐθέλοις θῦσαι οἷν, ἰδού σοι τῷ βωμῷ παρέστηκεν
4s 4 A f / y;
ois, καὶ det χέρνιβα κατάρξασθαι 3: εἰ δὲ εἴης τῶν
as , \ 3θέλ θῦ 10 - 7 “ν, ΑΛ 11
ροτέρων καὶ ἐθέλοις {θῦσαι 18 βοῦν θήλειαν 7
\ 37) 7] σι ~
Kat ἔτι πλείους, εἶτα ὑπὲρ τῆς τιμῆς οὔτε <aé> 13
ξ s 9 ΄π :
ὃ νομεὺς ἐπιτιμῶν ζημιώσει οὔτε σὺ. λυπήσεις
> - 4 4 fs Cal
ἐκεῖνον. τὸ yap δίκαιον τῆς πράσεως. ἡ θεὸς
? “᾿ \ “" : A - ᾿
ἐφορᾷ. καὶ εὖ καταθεὶς. ἵλεων ἕξεις αὐτήν" εἰ δὲ
“ ed f ὃ ᾿
ἐθέλοις τοῦ δέοντος πρίασθαι εὐτελέστερον," σὺ
\ 7 4 2 ᾽; “
μὲν κατέθηκας τὸ ἀργύριον ἄλλως, τὸ δὲ ζῷον
>. ἡ. " nee
ἀπέρχεται, Kat θῦσαι οὐκ ἔχεις. ἴδιον μὲν δὴ
7 ὔ > + ~ fal . “
Ερυκίνων ζῴων εἰρήσθω Kat τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς
’ « .
ἄνω.
1 τοῖσδε» add. H. 2 συγγενές.
3 Ges: τῷ. 4 Jac: αὐτόν.
ἡμικαύστων. 8 Reiske: δάδων.
Α 3;
® χέρνιβος καὶ κατάρξασθαι εἶτε αἶγα εἶτε ἔριφον...
19 ζθῦσαιΣ add Η. 11 Ges: εἰ.
12 ¢ge» add. H. 18 Ges: λυσιτελέστερον.
352

RGR ERS RO

Ἔξ

SLT EO ea I STS οι ΠΤ,

a

ON ANIMALS, X. 50

which was reputed enviable above most lands, after
these sacred objects had been imported, was reduced
to slavery. But impressive though these facts are
they have no bearing on my present object, but what
is relevant to this discourse shall now be told.

On every day throughout the whole year the people
of Eryx and strangers too sacrifice to the goddess.
And the largest of the altars is in the open air, and
upon it many sacrifices are offered, and all day long
and into the night the fire is kept burning. The
dawn begins to brighten, and still the altar shows no
trace of embers, no ashes, no fragments of half-burnt
logs, but is covered with dew and fresh grass which
comes up again every night. And the sacrificial
victims from every herd come up and stand beside
the altar of their own accord; it is the goddess in
the first place that leads them on, and in the second
place it is the ability to pay, and the wish, on the
part of the sacrificer. At any rate should you
desire to sacrifice a sheep, lo and behold, there is a
sheep standing at the.altar, and you must begin the
ceremonial washing. But if you are a man of
substance and wish to sacrifice one cow or even more
than one, then the herdsman will not mulct you by
charging too much, nor will you disappoint him,? for
the goddess sees that the sale-prices are just, and if
you pay fairly you will win her favour. If however
you want to buy at a cheaper rate than is proper,
you will pay down your money in vain—the animal
departs and you are unable to sacrifice.

So much then for this peculiarity of animals at
Eryx in addition to those which I have mentioned
earlier on.

> By attempting to bargain.
353

α This is entirely false.

VOL. It. N

sae nn nde STROA TE

BOOK XI

a NS ἔωσι

ΠΤ ΠῚ 22. τ π᾿ EL LE LLL EAD ALE ,

ΙΑ

1. ᾿Ανθρώπων “ἵπεβορέων γένος καὶ τιμὰς
᾿Απόλλωνος τὰς ἐκεῖθι ἄδουσι μὲν 1 ποιηταί,
ὑμνοῦσι δὲ καὶ συγγραφεῖς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς καὶ ‘Exarat-
os, οὐχ ὁ Μιλήσιος, ἀλλ᾽ 6 ᾿Αβδηρίτης. ἃ δὲ λέγει
πολλά τε καὶ σεμνὰ ἕτερα, οὔ μοι νῦν ἡ χρεία
παρακαλεῖν δοκεῖ αὐτά, καὶ οὖν καὶ ἐς ἄλλον
ὑπερθήσομαι χρόνον ἕκαστα εἰπεῖν, ἡνίκα ἐμοί τε
ἥδιον καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσι λῷον ἔσται: ἃ δέ με3
μόνα. ἦδε ἢ συγγραφὴ παρακαλεῖ ἔστι ταῦτα.
ἱερεῖς εἰσι τῷδε τῷ δαίμονι Βορέου καὶ Χιόνης
vieis,® τρεῖς τὸν ἀριθμόν, ἀδελφοὶ τὴν φύσιν,
ἑξαπήχεις τὸ μῆκος. ὅταν οὖν οὗτοι τὴν νενομισμέ-
νὴν ἱερουργίαν κατὰ τὸν συνήθη καιρὸν τῷ προει-
ρημένῳ * ἐπιτελῶσιν, ἐκ τῶν ‘Pimaiwy οὕτω
καλουμένων παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὀρῶν καταπέτεται ®
κύκνων ἄμαχα τῷ πλήθει νέφη,5 καὶ περιελθόντες
τὸν νεὼν Kat οἱονεὶ καθήραντες αὐτὸν τῇ πτήσει,
εἶτα μέντοι κατίασιν ἐς τὸν τοῦ νεὼ περίβολον,
μέγιστόν τε τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ κάλλος ὡραιότατον
ὄντα. ὅταν οὖν οἵ τε φδοὶ τῇ σφετέρᾳ μούσῃ τῷ
θεῷ προσάδωσι καὶ μέντοι καὶ οἱ κιθαρισταὶ
συγκρέκωσι τῷ χορῷ παναρμόνιον μέλος, ἐνταῦθά
τοι καὶ οἱ κύκνοι συναναμέλπουσιν ὅμορροθοῦντες

a ee 2
μὲν καὶ. μοι.
8 ee
υἱέες. 4 Tov προειρημένον.

356

LEFT ETT

BOOK XI

1. The race of the Hyperboreans and the honours ie and

there paid to Apollo are sung of by poets and are of

celebrated by historians, among whom is Hecataeus,
not of Miletus but of Abdera. The many other
matters of importance which he narrates I think
there is no need for me to bring in now, and in fact
Τ shall postpone the full recital to some other occasion,
when it will be pleasanter for me and more convenient
for my hearers. The only facts which this narrative
invites me to relate are as follows. This god has as
priests the sons of Boreas and Chione, three* in
number, brothers by birth, and six cubits in height.
So when at the customary time they perform the
established ritual of the aforesaid god there swoop
down from what are called the Rhipaean mountains ὃ
Swans in clouds, past numbering, and after they have
circled round the temple as though they were purify-
ing it by their flight, they descend into the precinct
of the temple, an area of immense size and of sur-
passing beauty. Now whenever the singers sing
their hymns to the god and the harpers accompany
the chorus with their harmonious music, thereupon
the Swans also with one accord join in the chant and

@ Or rather two, Calais and Zetes.
>» A fabulous range of mountains from which the N wind
was supposed to issue; beyond them lived the Hyperboreans.

8 ἀμήχανα... .. τὰ νέφη.

357

7
ὅ καταπέτονται.

€ worship

Apollo

rare Amu Ll Abani ONGR SI oa ashe ees aca ec a ed SL SAAS SE OA ANAS AR eR Sop he του τ ΟΝ

AELIAN

i 9 ~ > ~ 3 A a :
Kat οὐδαμῶς οὐδαμῆ ἀπηχὲς Kal ἀπῳδὸν ἐκεῖνοι

μελῳδοῦντες, ἀλλὰ ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκ τοῦ χορολέκτου
τὸ ἐνδόσιμον λαβόντες καὶ τοῖς σοφισταῖς τῶν
ἱερῶν μελῶν τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις συνάσαντες. εἶτα
τοῦ ὕμνου τελεσθέντος ot δὲ ἀναχωροῦσι τῇ πρὸς
τὸν δαίμονα τιμῇ τὰ εἰθισμένα λατρεύσαντες καὶ
τὸν θεὸν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ἡμέραν οἱ προειρημένοι ὡς
εἰπεῖν χορευταὶ πτηνοὶ μέλψαντές 1 τε ἅμα καὶ

ON ANIMALS, XI. 1-3

never once do they sing a discordant note or out of
tune, but as though they had been given the key
by the conductor they chant in unison with the
natives who are skilled in the sacred melodies. Then
when the hymn is finished the aforesaid winged
choristers, so to call them, after their customary
service in honour of the god and after singing and
celebrating his praises all through the day, depart.

ἢ

ἄσαντες. 2. The people of Epirus and all strangers cone
* * 2 hd 16]

sojourning there, beside any other sacrifice to ‘Apotioin

2. Θύουσι 66? καὶ ἄλλως of ᾿Ηπειρῶται τῷ Apollo, on one day in the year hold their chief Epirus

᾿Απόλλωνι καὶ αὐτοὶ Kat πᾶν ὅσον τῶν ἕένων
ἐπίδημόν ἐστι,3 καὶ τούτῳ δὴ ὁ τὴν μεγίστην
ἑορτὴν ἄγουσι μιᾶς ἡμέρας τοῦ ἔτους σεμνήν τε καὶ
μεγαλοπρεπῆ. ἔστι δὲ ἄνετον τῷ θεῷ ἄλσος, καὶ
ἔχει κύκλῳ περίβολον, καὶ ἔνδον εἰσὶ ® δράκοντες,
καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄθυρμα οὗτοί γε. ἡ τοίνυν ἱέρεια,
γυνὴ 8 παρθένος, πάρεισι μόνη, καὶ τροφὴν τοῖς
δράκουσι κομίζει. λέγονται δὲ apa ὑπὸ τῶν
Ἠπειρωτῶν “ἔκγονοι τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἸΠυθῶνος
εἶναι. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν οὗτοι παρελθοῦσαν τὴν ἱέρειαν
προσηνῶς θεάσωνται καὶ τὰς τροφὰς προθύμως
λάβωσιν, εὐθενίαν 7 re ὑποδηλοῦν ὁμολογοῦνται
καὶ ἔτος ἄνοσον: ἐὰν δὲ ἐκπλήξωσι μὲν αὐτήν, μὴ
λάβωσι δὲ ὅσα ὀρέγει μειλίγματα, τἀναντία τῶν
προειρημένων οὗ μὲν μαντεύονται, οἱ δὲ ἐλπίζουσιν.

1
Ἰὰς
᾿
x

festival in his honour with solemnity and great
pomp. There is a grove dedicated to the god, and
round about it a precinct, and in the enclosure are
Serpents, and these self-'same Serpents are the pets
of the god. Now the priestess, who is a virgin, —
enters unaccompanied, bringing food for the Ser-—
pents. And the people of Epirus maintain that the
Serpents are sprung from the Python at Delphi. If,
as the priestess approaches, they look graciously upon
her and take the food with eagerness, it is agreed
that they are indicating a year of prosperity and of
freedom from sickness. If however they scare
her and refuse the pleasant food she offers, then the
Serpents are foretelling the reverse of the above,
and that is what the people of Epirus expect.

3. At Etna in Sicily honour is paid to a temple of las
Hephaestus, and there are a precinct, sacred trees, tus at Etna

and a fire that is never extinguished, never sleeps.

3 fh ~ κι
3. Ἔν Αὔτνῃ δὲ ἄρα τῇ Σικελικῇ Ἡφαίστου
~ 7 \ »
τιμᾶται νεώς, Kat ἔστι περίβολος καὶ δένδρα ἱερὰ
, nm δ 7
καὶ πῦρ ἄσβεστον τε καὶ ἀκοίμητον. εἰσὶ δὲ

5 Jac: εἰσὶ κύκλῳ. 6 Lobeck : γυμνή.

εὐθένειαν H.

t τέρψαντες. , 2 +e,
2 2
5. ἐστι θύουσι. 4 ἤδη.

358 359

AELIAN

, , \ \ 4 1 oo» ς ὔ rae
KUVES “πέρι TE TOV νεῷ» Καὶ TO ἄλσος tepot, Kat

τοὺς μὲν σωφρόνως Kal ὡς πρέπει TE ἅμα καὶ
χρὴ παριόντας ἐς τὸν νεὼν καὶ τὸ ἄλσος οἵδε
σαίνουσι καὶ αἰκάλλουσιν, οἷα 1 φιλοφρονούμενοί 2
τε καὶ γνωρίζοντες δήπου: ἐὰν δέ τις ἢ {τὰς 8
χεῖρας ἐναγής, τοῦτον μὲν καὶ δάκνουσι καὶ
ἀμύσσουσι, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλως ἔκ τινος ὁμιλίας
ἥκοντας ἀκολάστου μόνον διώκουοιν.

4. Τὴν Δήμητρα “Ἑρμιονεῖς σέβουσι, καὶ θύουσιν
αὐτῇ μεγαλοπρεπῶς τε καὶ σοβαρῶς, καὶ τὴν
ἑορτὴν Χθόνια * καλοῦσι. μεγίστας ὃ γοῦν ὃ ἀκούω
βοῦς ὑπὸ τῆς ἱερείας τῆς Δήμητρος ἄγεσθαί τε
πρὸς τὸν βωμὸν ἐκ τῆς ἀγέλης καὶ θύειν ἑαυτὰς
παρέχειν. καὶ οἷς λέγω μάρτυς ᾿Αριστοκλῆς, ὅς
πού φησι

Δάματερ πολύκαρπε, σὺ κὴν Σικελοῖσιν ἐναργὴς
: 4 > 59
καὶ παρ᾽ ᾿Ἐρεχθείδαις. ἕν δέ τι {τοῦτον 7?

εγα
κρίνετ᾽ ἐν “Ἑμιονεῦσι: τὸν ἐξ ἀγέλης γὰρ
ἀφειδῆ

“ a " “~
ταῦρον, ὃν οὐ χειροῦντ᾽ 8 ἀνέρες οὐδὲ δέκα,
΄--Ῥ a /
τοῦτον γραῦς στεΐχουσα μόνα μόνον οὔατος ἕλκει
7ὔ > >? A : 7 e ? “
τόνδ᾽ ἐπὶ βωμόν, ὃ δ᾽ ὡς ματέρι παῖς ἕπεται.
1 , 7}
σὸν τόδε, Δάματερ, σὸν τὸ σθένος" ἵλαος εἴης,
\ 7 9 θ LAA AE 3 € “
καὶ πάντως 3 θάλλοι κλᾶρος ἐν ᾿Ερμιόνῃ.

1 οἷα δή. 2 Ges: φιλόφροσιν ἑνούμενοι.
3 <ras> add. Η. 4 Meursius: χθονίαν.
5 Ges: μεγίστους. δ οὖν.
᾿ «τοῦτον add. Ges. 8 οὐχ αἱροῦσιν.
πάντων.
360

es

ee

ESS ΕΣ

ON ANIMALS, XI. 3-4

And about the temple and the grove there are sacred
Hounds which greet and fawn upon such as pass into
the temple and the grove with honest hearts in seemly
fashion as is their duty, as though the animals had a
kindness for them and presumably recognised them.
If however a man has his hands stained with crime,
they bite and tear him, whereas those who only
come from the bed of debauchery they simply chase
away.

4. The people of Hermione * worship Demeter
and sacrifice to her in splendid and impressive style;
and they call her festival the * Festival of the Earth.’
At any rate I have heard that the largest cattle
allow themselves to be led from the herd by the
priestess to the altar of Demeter and be sacrificed.
And Aristocles bears witness to my statement when
he says somewhere |

‘Demeter, goddess of abundance, thou dost
manifest thyself both to the people of Sicily and
to the sons of Erechtheus, but this among the
dwellers in Hermione is judged a mighty feat: the
bull of surpassing size from a herd, which not even
ten men can master, this bull an aged woman,
coming by herself, leads by the ear alone to this
altar, and he follows as a child after its mother.
Thine, even thine, Demeter, is the power. Show
us thy favour and grant that every farm in Her-
mione may thrive exceedingly.’

* Town on the SE coast of Argolis.

e

361

RZ REC I ARNT G Aga Te APT NAPIER I TAPAS TIEN NES Nenana efemTTT SET

AELIAN

> a ion ~ ᾿

ὅ. Ἔν {τῇ 1 γῇ τῇ Δαυνίᾳ 5 νεὼν μὲν εἶναι

“".Ἅ ᾽Δθ “- ~ TA (ὃ 109 : ‘ ὃ 4 3 A
τῆς ᾿Αθηνᾶς τῆς ᾿Ιλιάδος ἄδουσι" τοὺς ὃε ἐνταυθοῖ

7 ? “~ κι
κύνας τρεφομένους ὑμνοῦσι τῶν μὲν ᾿Βἰλλήνων τοὺς
> δ i ~ d
ἀφικνουμένους caivew, ὑλακτεῖν δὲ τοὺς βαρβάρους.

6. Ἔν ᾿Αρκαδίᾳ δὲ χώρᾳ ἐστὶν ἱερὸν Ἰανός"
Αὐλὴ τῷ χώρῳ τὸ ὄνομα. οὐκοῦν ὅσα ἂν ἐνταυθοῖ
τῶν ζῴων καταφύγῃ ὥσπερ οὖν ἱκέτας ὁ θεὸς δι᾽
αἰδοῦς ἄγων 8 εἶτα μέντοι σώζει τὴν μεγίστην
σωτηρίαν αὐτά: οἱ γάρ τοι λύκοι οἱ διώκοντες
παρελθεῖν ἔσω πεφρίκασι καὶ ἀναστέλλονται μόνον
θεασάμενοι of * κατέφυγεν. ἴδια δὴ ὃ καὶ τούτων
τῶν ξῴων ἔοικε ὃ πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἀγαθά.

7. Ἔν Κουριάδι { αἱ ἔλαφοι (πλῆθος δὲ ἄρα
τούτων τῶν θηρίων ἐνταῦθά ἐστι, καὶ πολλοὶ
θηραταὶ περὶ τὴν ἄγραν αὐτῶν ἠνέμωνται) ὅταν
καταφύγωσιν ἐς τὸ τοῦ ᾿Απόλλωνος ἱερὸν τὸ
ἐνταυθοῖ 8 (ἔστι δὲ ἄλσος μέγιστον), ὑλακτοῦσι
μὲν οἱ κύνες, πλησίον δὲ ἐλθεῖν οὐχ. ὑπομένουσιν"
at δὲ συστᾶσαι9ϑ νέμονται ἄτρεπτον 19 καὶ ἀδεᾷ 11
τὴν νομήν, ἀπορρήτῳ. τινὶ φύσει τὴν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν
σωτηρίαν τῷ θεῷ πιστεύουσαι αἱ ἔλαφοι.

8. "Avw που λέλεκταί μοι τὰς μυίας τὰς ἐν
᾿Ολυμπίᾳ τῇ τῆς πανηγύρεως ἐπιδημίᾳ ἑκούσας
ἀφίστασθαι καὶ ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν
ἐπὶ τὴν ἀντιπέρας ὄχθην τοῦ ᾿Αλφειοῦ ἀπιέναι.

᾿ (τῇ ἀν: Η. 2 Gron: Δαυλίᾳ.
ἄγων τὰ ζῷα. 4 od.

ὅ Schn: dé. 8 ἔβθηκαι or ἔφην.

7 Schn: κουριδίῳ. 8 ἐνταυθοῖ τιμήσιον.

362

NEEL ISNT τ΄έὸ τ᾿ πὸ το τ τ π᾿ το τ

GALES IIIS STEN CORT A ISU tei aT I SSIS RU SSS EY i π᾿

ON ANIMALS, XI. 5-8

5. In the country of the Daunii? there is a tenaple Dogs sacred
to Athena of Ilium which is celebrated. And they Hig 5. 8»
say that the Hounds that are kept there fawn upon

any Greeks that arrive but bark at foreigners.

6. And in Arcadian territory there is a shrine of a refuge for
Pan; Aule is the name of the place. Now any ghimalsin
animals that take refuge there the god respects Arcadia
as suppliants and protects in complete safety. For
wolves in pursuit are afraid to enter it and are checked

at the mere sight of the place of refuge. So there

"is private property for these animals too to enable

them to survive.

7. On Curias® when the Deer (of which there are A refuge for
a great number and many hunters keen in pursuit of ore
them) take refuge in the temple of Apollo there (the
precinct is of very wide extent), the hounds bay at’
them but do not dare to approach. But the Deer

in a body graze undeterred and without fear and by

some mysterious instinct trust to the god for their

safety.

8. I have mentioned somewhere earlier on *-how me avoid
on the oceasion of the national assembly at Olympia οἱ ‘Apotlo
the flies absent themselves of their own free will and,
so to speak, depart along with the women to the

opposite bank of the Alpheus. And in the island of
@ A people in the NW of Apulia. |

δ Promontory on the § coast of Cyprus.
© See 5. 17.

= ..........-...

9 2 10 »
ἐνστᾶσαι. aT pe OTOP.

11. ἀδεῆ.

363

AELIAN

ἐν δὲ τῇ Λευκάδι ἄκρα μέν ἐστιν ὑψηλή, νεὼς δὲ.

᾿Απόλλωνι ἵδρυται, καὶ "Ακτιόν γε, αὐτὸν οἱ
τιμῶντες ὀνομάζουσιν. οὐκοῦν τῆς πανηγύρεως
ἐπιδημεῖν μελλούσης, καθ᾽ ἣν καὶ τὸ πήδημα
πηδῶσι τῷ θεῷ, θύουσι βοῦν ταῖς μυίαις, ai δὲ
ἐμπλησθεῖσαι τοῦ αἵματος ἀφανίζονται. δεκασθεῖ-
σαι μὲν οὖν ἀπαλλάττονται αὗται, at δὲ Πισαῖαι
ἀδέκαστοι. κρείττους ἄρα ἐκεῖναι, αἰδοῖ τοῦ θεοῦ,
ἀλλὰ μὴ μιοθοῦ τὰ δέοντα πράττουσαι.

᾿ 3 ? > ~ \ on 3 ”~
9. Ixapos ἐστι νῆσος, καὶ τῇ γε Ἰυρυθρᾷ
θαλάττῃ ἔγκειται. ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν νεώς ἐστιν
> x” \ λ / θ 9. αὶ > " ᾿
Αρτέμιδος, καὶ πλήθη αἰγῶν τε ἀγρίων καὶ
x ~ \ ~
δορκάδων εὖ μάλα εὐτραφῶν καὶ λαγῶν μέντοι.
τούτων οὖν ἐάν τις αἰτήσας λαβεῖν παρὰ τῆς θεοῦ
εἶτα ἐπιχειρήσῃ θηρᾶν ὅσα ἂν ἔχῃ καλῶς, οὐ
7 ᾿ “o

“- > \ 4 ᾿ 4 \
ιαμαρτάνει τῆς σπουδῆς, ἀλλὰ Kat λαμβάνει Kat
“- 4 > ‘4 ¢ n

τῷ δώρῳ χαίρει: ἐὰν δὲ μὴ αἰτήσῃ, οὔτε αἱρεῖ

2 YOY

ΕΠ ΠΤ 3 2

ON ANIMALS, XI. 8-10

Leucas there is a high promontory on which a temple
of Apollo has been built, and worshippers style him
Apollo of Actium. Now when the festival is about to
be held there in which they make the Leap in honour
of the god, men sacrifice an ox to the flies, and when
the latter have sated themselves with the blood they
disappear. Yes, but they are bribed to depart,
whereas the flies at Pisa need no bribe. So the
latter are superior because they do what is required
out of reverence for the god and not for a reward.

9, Icarus is an island and lies in the Red Sea.? ener on

Now there is a temple of Artemis there and quantities
of wild goats and plump gazelles and hares also.
If a man ask leave of the goddess to take them and
then starts to hunt whatever is allowed, he does
not fail in his object but succeeds and is glad of her
gift. But should he fail to ask, he takes nothing
and is punished in a way that others describe.

ν , A. ONY. 7
καὶ δίδωσι δίκας, ἃς ἄλλοι λέγουσιν. 10. And now, when 1 have mentioned the swans Apis, the

from the Rhipaean mountains in the country of the peas
Hyperboreans on account of their daily and assiduous Egyptians

service of the son of Zeus and Leto, shall I refrain

Ὁ ΠΗ RERUN OUST SESS IS GN ESO ΓΦ A

10. Etra κύκνων μὲν τῶν ‘Piraiwy τῶν ἐν τοῖς
ἐδ “ ? \ A 7 ΄“΄“ Δ \ \
περβορέοις, ἐπεὶ Aatpevovor τῷ Διὸς Kat

TWEE

and 3 7
ητοῦς ὁσημέραι φιλοπόνως, ἐποιησάμην μνήμην,
ταύρου δὲ ἱεροῦ, ὅνπερ οὖν ἐκθεοῦσιν Αἰγύπτιοι,
“-- ~ ¢ ~
οὐκ ἐροῦμεν τὰ ἴδια; καὶ πῶς ἡμᾶς οὐκ av μέμψαι-
To καὶ ἡ συγγραφὴ καὶ ἡ φύσις, ἧς καὶ τοῦτο
3 4 ὃ »“ Ε Ἰλλὰ / 7 οἰ 2 δὲ
ἔργον τε καὶ δῶρον; ἀλλὰ 7 μὴήσιός |“ γε οὐδε

1 Jac: τι. 2 μήσιος corrupt.

¢ Strabo (10. 452) relates that at the annual festival a
criminal, to whom a number of live birds were attached in

364,

EE

es
St

wa

from telling of the special characteristics of the
sacred Bull which the Egyptians deify? How then
could I avoid being censured by history and by
Nature, who made and gave this gift also to man?
But <no one shall accuse me of negligence on this

order to break his fall (or ‘leap’), was thrown into the sea,
was then picked up by boatmen and taken from the

country.
ὃ Or rather at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. The

more usual spelling is ‘ Ichara.’

365

AELIAN

, es \ > 7 δον κα
ταύτῃ ῥᾷάθυμον, καὶ εἰκότως εἰρήσεται καὶ ἡ
ξ

θεολογία ἥδε. θεὸς Αἰγυπτίοις + ἐναργέστατος ὁ
ἐ Amis εἶναι πιστεύεται. γίνεται δὲ ἐκ βοός, ἐς
ἣν οὐράνιον σέλας ἐμπεσὸν σπορᾶς αἴτιόν ἐστι τῷ
προειρημένῳ. «(καὶ Ἕλληνες {μὲν 3 αὐτὸν Ka-
οὔσιν Erradov, καὶ yeveadoyotaty of μητέρα “Id
τὴν Ἀργείαν τὴν ᾿ΙΪνάχου: Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ἐκβάλ.
ovat τὸν λόγον ὡς ψευδῆ, καὶ χρῶνται τῷ χρόνῳ
μάρτυρι. φασὶ γὰρ "Ἑπαφον μὲν ὀψὲ καὶ κάτω
γενέσθαι, τὸν δὲ ᾶπιν τὸν πρῶτον μυριάδας ἐτῶν
παμπόλλας τὴν ἐς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιδημίαν προειληφέ-
ναι. σημεῖα δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ γνωρίσματα λέγει μὲν
καὶ Ἡρόδοτος καὶ ᾿Αρισταγόρας, οὐχ ὁμολογοῦσι
δὲ αὐτοῖς Αἰγύπτιοι: ἐννέα καὶ εἴκοσι γὰρ αὐτὰ
εἶναί φασι καὶ ἐμπρέπειν τῷδε τῷ ἱερῷ Bot. τίνα
δὲ ταῦτά ἐστι καὶ ὅπως διέσπαρται κατὰ τοῦ
σώματος τοῦ ζῴου, καὶ ὄντινα τρόπον οἷονεὶ
διήνθισται αὐτοῖς, ἀλλαχόθεν εἴσεσθε: ὅτου δὲ
τῶν ἀστέρων ἕκαστον σημεῖον διὰ συμβόλων
αἰνίττεται τὴν φύσιν, Αἰγύπτιοι τεκμηριῶσαι
ἱκανοί. καὶ γάρ τοι καὶ τὴν ἄνοδον τὴν τοῦ
Νείλου ὑποδηλοῦν σημεῖά 8 dace καὶ τὸ τοῦ
κόσμον σχῆμα: ᾿ ὄψει τι καὶ σύμβολον, ὡς

? “A 7 : Ψ 7
ἐκεῖνοι λέγουσιν, ὅπερ οὖν αἰνίττεται τοῦ φωτὸς.

,
εἶναι τὸ σκότος πρεσβύτερον. καὶ τὸ μηνοειδὲς
τῆς σελήνης κατηγορεῖ σχῆμα τῷ» 4 συνιέντι ®
>

σημεῖον ἄλλο, καὶ ἄλλα δὲ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἄλλων
αἰνίγματα βεβῆλοι i apabé ἱστορί

ι βεβήλοις τε καὶ ἀμαθέσιν ἱστορίας
εοπρεποῦς οὐκ εὐσύμβολα ταῦτα ὀφθαλμοῖς ὄντα.

1 Ges: Αἰγύπτιος.
3 σημεῖον.
366

2 <xal>. . . ζμᾷνδ add. H,
4 «τῷδ add. ΓΙ . a

De LLM MLE ELDEST ES LIEU DS UAE WIT COE OEE τ ES

LALLA Ean

ee
&
et
Set
δ

ON ANIMALS, XI. τὸ

point ?>,* and 1 will describe also, as is reasonable,
this system of religion. |

Among the Egyptians Apis is believed to be the
god whose presence is most manifest. He is born
of a cow on which a flash of light from heaven has
fallen and caused his engendering. The Greeks call
him Epaphus and trace his descent from his mother
the Argive Io, daughter of Inachus. The Egyptians
however reject the story as false, and appeal to time
as their witness, for they maintain that Epaphus
was born late down the ages, whereas the first Apis
visited mankind many, many thousands of years
earlier. Herodotus [3. 28] and Aristagoras [Miller
FHG 2. 98] adduce evidence and tokens of this; but
the Egyptians do not acknowledge them, for they
assert that there are nine-and-twenty marks clearly
to be seen on this sacred bull. But what these
marks are, and how they are distributed over the
body of the animal, and in what fashion the bull is,
as it were, adorned with them, you may learn from
another source. And the Egyptians are able to
explain which of the stars each mark symbolises.
And they say further that the marks indicate when
the Nile will rise and the shape of the universe.
But you will also see a mark (so the Egyptians assert)
which suggests that darkness is older than light.
And another mark explains the shape of the crescent
moon to him who understands; there are besides,
other mysterious signs of different import which to

the eyes of the profane and those uninstructed in

divine history are hard to interpret. And whenever

α The text is defective and the translation conjectural.
oo a i - -'ς.--.
6 Ges: συνιόν τι. 6 μέρος.

367

AELIAN

ὅταν δὲ διαρρεύσῃ ἡ φήμη τὸν θεὰν Αἰγυπτίοις
τετέχθαι λέγουσα, τῶν γραμματέων τῶν ἱερῶν
τινες, οἷσπερ οὖν μάθημα παιδὶ ἐκ πατρὸς
παραδοθὲν ἀκριβοῦν" τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν σημείων
ἔλεγχον, ἥκουσιν ἐνταῦθα, οὗ τῆς θεοφιλοῦς ὅ βοὸς
τὸ βρέφος ἐτέχθη, καὶ κατά γε τὴν ὑφήγησιν τὴν
Ἕρμοῦ τὴν πρεσβυτάτην οἰκίαν * ἐγείρουσιν, ἔνθα
δήπου καὶ διαυτήσεται τήν γε πρώτην, ἐς ἡλίου
μὲν ἀνατολὰς ὁρῶσαν, τρόφους ὃ δὲ τὰς τοῦ
βρέφους ὑποδέξασθαι καὶ μάλα γε ἱκανήν: τετ-
τάρων γὰρ δεῖ μηνῶν ἐν γάλαξι τόνδε εἶναι τὸν
μόσχον. ἐπὰν δὲ γένηται extpadeis,® ἐνταῦθά τοι
ὑπανισχούσης σελήνης νέας ἀπαντῶσι γραμματεῖς
ἱεροὶ καὶ προφῆται, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ναῦν ἀνὰ ἔτος
ἐς τοῦτο τῷδε τῷ δαίμονι ἱερὰν κοσμοῦσι, καὶ
ταύτῃ πορθμεύουσιν αὐτὸν ἐς Μέμφιν, ἔνθα φίλτατα
ἤθη αὐτῷ καὶ διατριβαὶ 8 κεχαρισμέναι καὶ ἐνηβητή-
ρια καὶ δρόμοι καὶ κονίστραι καὶ γυμνάσια καὶ
θηλειῶν βοῶν ὡραίων οἶκοι ὃ καὶ φρέαρ καὶ κρήνη
ποτίμου νάματος" οὐ 19 γάρ οἵ φασιν ot θεραπευταΐ
τε καὶ ἱερεῖς λυσιτελεῖν ἀεὶ Νειλῴου πίνειν: καὶ
γὰρ πιαίνεσθαι 11 γλυκέος τούτου τοῦ ῥεύματος
καὶ ἐς ὄγκον σαρκῶν ὄντος ἀγαθοῦ. πομπὰς δὲ
ἃς πέμπουσι, καὶ ἱερουργίας <ds> 13 ἐπιτελοῦσι
τοῦ νέου 18 δαίμονος τὰ θεοφάνια θύοντες Αἰγύπτιοι,
καὶ χορείας (ἃς 14 χορεύουσι, καὶ θαλίας καὶ

1 Jac: ὥσπερ. 2 Jac: axptpot.
3 θεοῦ φασιν Αἰγυπτίου. 4 οἰκίαν τε.

δ R6hl: τροφάς MSS, H. 8 rpadeis.

7 καὶ τῷδε. 8 φριβαί.

9 ῖ € N 7 Ψ 32) κ᾿ Δ oA 4 > ar A
οἶκοι, οἱονεὶ
ὃ οἶκοι, θάλαμοι, ὅτε ἐθέλοι καὶ ἣν ἐρᾷ θυμὸς ἀναβαΐνειν
αὐτόν.
19 γοῦτο.

368

.&
,
Ε:
ΕΗ
Ἵ
Sa
᾿
S&S
ἐξ
ES

LEME

LETS UE ES

Ly
cae

EG

SSS,

ὮΝ
Ss
ΒῊ
ΠΝ

ON ΑΝΙΜΑΙΒ, XI. τὸ

the report gets abroad which tells the Egyptians
that the god has been born, some of the sacred
scribes to whom there has been handed down from
father to son the science whereby they verify these
marks, come to the spot where the calf has been born
to the heifer beloved of god, and in accordance with
the immemorial precepts of Hermes erect a house
where the calf will live at any rate for the time
being; it faces the rising sun and is quite large
enough to take in the nurses of the calf, for it is
essential that the calf should be at the udder for
four months. And when it has been weaned, then
at the rising of the new moon the sacred scribes and
priests go out to meet it and moreover year by year
make ready a sacred vessel for this god and transport
him on board to Memphis, where he finds abodes
after his heart and delightful spots to linger in and
places where he may amuse himself, where he may
yun and roll in the dust and exercise himself, and the
homes of beautiful cows, and a well and a spring that
yield water for drinking, for his ministers and priests
say that it is not good for him always to drink of the
Nile. Moreover he is said to grow fat on this sweet
water which helps to build up a mass of flesh. As for
the processions which they hold and the sacred
offices which they perform when the Egyptians
celebrate the revelation of the new god, the dances

α The ‘nurses’ are the cows which supply the Apis-calf

- with milk.

—_—

il \ Ἁ ,

καὶ γὰρ π.Ἷ καταπιαίνεσθαι.
12 <a> add. Schn.

18 Reiske: νέου καὶ ὕδατος.

14 ds) add. Reiske.
369

AELIAN

Δ 3 ~ “a
πανηγύρεις as ἐπιτελοῦσι, Kat ὅπως αὐτοῖς καὶ

πόλις ἅπασα καὶ κώμη δι᾿ εὐφροσύνης ἔρχεται,
μακρὰ ἂν εἴη λέγειν. ἐκεῖνος δέ, ἐν ὅτου τῇ
ἀγέλῃ τόδε τὸ θεῖον ἐγένετο ζῷον, δοκεῖ me
εὐδαίμων καὶ ἔστιν, ἄγουσί Te Αἰγύπτιοι θαυμαστόν
γε αὐτόν. μάντις δὲ 8. ἣν ἄρα ἀγαθὸς 6 "Ams, οὐ
καθίζων μὰ Δία κόρας ἢ πρεσβυτέρας γυναῖκας
ἐπί τινων τριπόδων, οὐδὲ μὴν πώματος ἱεροῦ
ἐμπιπλάς, ἀλλ᾽ ὃ μέν τις εὔχεται τῷ θεῷ τῷδε,3
παῖδες δὲ ἀθύροντες ἔξω καὶ πρὸς αὐλοὺς 4
σκιρτῶντες, ἐπίπνοοι γενόμενοι σὺν τῷ ῥυθμῷ
αὐτὰ ἕκαστα προλέγουσιν, ὡς εἶναι (ἀληθέστερα
τῶν ἐπὶ Σάγρᾳ τὰ λεχθέντα. εἰκάζουσι δὲ
ἄρα καὶ τῷ “Ὥρῳ αὐτὸν Αἰγύπτιοι, ὅνπερ οὖν
πεπιστεύκασι φορᾶς καρπῶν ὃ καὶ εὐετηρίας αἰτιώ-
τατον ἁπάσης. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πολυχροίας
αὐτοῦ φιλοσοφοῦσι, τὸ ποικίλον τῶν καρπῶν
ὑπαινιττόμενοι διὰ συμβόλων. λέγει δέ τις τῶν
προφητῶν λόγος οὐ πᾶσιν ἔκπυστος ὅτι ἄρα
«Μῆνις» 7 ὃ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεὺς ἐπενόησε
ζῷον ὥστε σέβειν ἔμψυχον, εἶτα μέντοι προείλετο
ταῦρον, ἁπάντων ὡραιότατον εἶναι αὐτὸν πεπιστευ-
Kas καὶ τῆς γε “Ομήρου κρίσεως τῆς ὑπὲρ τούτων
κατ᾽ ἴχνια ἰὼν ὁ Μῆνίς φασιν. εἰπεῖν γὰρ καὶ

“Ὅμηρον ἐν *Thidde

27 “~ > / ¢ 3 “

ἠύτε βοῦς ἀγέληφι μέγ᾽ ἔξοχος ἔπλετο πάντων
“~ ¢ 7 f

ταῦρος" ὁ yap Te βόεσσι μεταπρέπει ἀγρομένῃσι.

1 Schn: λέγει δὲ ἐκεῖνος. © we:
3 χῷδε, καὶ μαθεῖν ἐθέλει αὐτοῦ. 4 ἀλλήλους.
ὅ (ἀληθέστερα τῶν ἐπὶ Σιάγρᾳ Anon.: εἶναι Σιάγραν.
ὃ. Ges: τρόπων.

7 (Maus) add. Η.
37°

Aj

SL DERE AT

si

ee he

ΠΣ

Ὑπὸ ΠΤ π᾿

x
Be
Se
ee
ae
RS
paar
ORS
Rie
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We
ἘΣ
a
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Ss
SS
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eS
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Se
ἕ

8

ΕἸ

ON ANIMALS, XI. 10

which they execute, the feasts and the assemblies
which they organise, and how every town and
village is filled with joy—all this would make a long
story. But the man in whose herd this divine
animal was born is counted fortunate and is so, and
the Egyptians regard him with admiration.

Apis, it seems, is in effect a good prophet: he to
be sure never sets girls or elderly women on tripods,
never fills them with some sanctified draught, but a —
man prays to this god, and children without, who are
playing and dancing to the music of pipes, become
inspired and proclaim in time with the music the
actual response of the god, so that what they say is
more true than what occurred by the Sagras.*

The Egyptians liken Apis to Horus whom they
believe to be the prime cause of the fertility of their
crops and of every good season. That is how they
come to reason about his varied colouring, seeing in
it a hidden symbolical reference to the variety of the
crops. And there is a story of the priests not known
to all, that Menis the King of Egypt, thinking of
some living animal that he might worship, elected a
bull, believing it to be the finest of all animals, and
at any rate following Homer in his Judgment on
these matters, so they say. For Homer too in his
Ihad [2. 480] says

‘ Even as a bull standeth out far foremost in the
herd, for he is conspicuous amid the pasturing kine.’

@ A river (no longer identifiable) in Bruttium which was the.
scene of a battle between the Locrians and the people of
Croton at some date during the 6th cent. 8.c. The Locrians
with the aid of the Dioscuri defeated a force more than ten
times their number, The news of the victory reached Sparta
on the very same day, and was received with incredulity. See
Suidas, ἀληθέστερα κτλ., Smith, Dict. Geogr. 2. 873.

371.

AEKLIAN ON ANIMALS, XI. 10-11

Re 4 3 ΄-“ ~
οἷα δὲ ἐς μυθολογίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦδε τοῦ ζῴου ἐκτρέ-
5» 2 ~
πουσιν Αἰγύπτιοι ' ot τὰ περὶ τῶν ζῴων γράψαντες,
Ld “.
οὔ μοι δοκεῖ φίλα εἶναι.

But the facts which Egyptian writers on zoology
distort into legends about this animal are not to my
taste.

cf

B

11. ‘Nay, but change the theme’ [Hom. Od. Mneuis, the
8. 492], as the phrase might go, and sing not of the ara

Horse ® nor yet of the ambush within, but of the bull Esyptians

11, “AAN aye δὴ μετάβηθι dain ἂν ὁ λόγος,
καὶ οὐχ ἵππον μὰ Δία οὐδὲ μὴν τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ
, ἘΝ ὮΝ ἐφ 7
λόχον δε, ἀλλὰ Μνεῦιν βοῦν. καὶ τοῦτον Αἰγύπ-

τιοι “Ἡλίου φασὶν ἱερόν, ἐπεὶ τόν ye “Amv ἀνάθημα
εἶναι Σελήνῃ λέγουσιν. ἴδιον δὲ ἄρα καὶ τούτῳ
γνώρισμα ἐς τὸ εἶναι μήτε κίβδηλον μήτε μὴν
νόθον ἀλλὰ φίλον τῷ θεῷ τῷ προειρημένῳ φασὶν
Αἰγύπτιοι. καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων μὲν ὃ ἐρεῖ ἄλλος,
ὃν δὲ ἤκουσα λόγον Αἰγύπτιον ἐς βάσανον τοῦδε
τοῦ ταύρου καὶ ἔλεγχον, εἴτε σπορᾶς ἐστι κρείτ-
Tovos εἴτε μή, τοῦτον εἰπεῖν ἐθέλω. Βόκχορις 6
τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεύς, κλέος ὃ ψευδὲς καὶ
φήμην οὐδὲν λέγουσαν ὑγιὲς οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως
ἁρπάσας, δίκαιός τε ἐν ταῖς κρίσεσιν ἐδόκει καὶ
πρὸς τὸ ὅσιον ὦ τὴν ψυχὴν κεκοσμημένος: ἣν δὲ
ἄρα ἔμπαλιν πεφυκὼς ἐκεῖνος. καὶ τὰ μὲν πλείω
ἐῶ νῦν, τὸν δὲ Μνεῦιν, λυπῆσαι θέλων Αἰγυπτίους,
οἷα ἐργάζεται γοῦν αὐτόν. ταῦρον ἄγριον ἐπάγει
οἱ ἀντίπαλον. οὐκοῦν μυκᾶται μὲν 6 Μνεῦις,
ἀντεμυκήσατο δὲ 6 ἔπηλυς. εἶτα ὑπὸ <rod> 5
θυμοῦ φέρεται μὲν ἐμπεσεῖν τῷ ταύρῳ τῷ θεοφιλεῖ
ὁ ξένος ἐθέλων, καὶ σφάλλεται, καὶ ἐς περσέας
ἐμπεσὼν πρέμνον ἐπεσχέθη τὸ κέρας, ὃ δὲ κατὰ
τῆς πλευρᾶς ὃ ὁ Μνεῦις τιτρώσκων ἴ ἀπέκτεινεν
1 Αἰγύπτιοι τῆδε τῇ περὶ τῶν ζῴων ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἰδιότητι.
= δέ. κατὰ κλέος.

4 θεῖον. 5 <rod> add. H.

. 8. κατὰ πλεύραν.

312

Li IB ΠῚ

ize

ae

BS
& cr
aS
᾿
:
-
Rt
S
.
EY
aS
Rie
ΕΞ
᾿
BS
κα
ἢ
2
ΣᾺΝ
ae
-
ἘΝ
sex
δὲ
x,
3
|
2

Mneuis. And he, say the Egyptians, is sacred to the
Sun, whereas Apis, they say, is dedicated to the
Moon. And according to the Egyptians he also
bears a special mark to show that he is no counter-
feit, no bastard, but beloved of the aforesaid god.
On these topics another shall speak, but what I
wish to tell is the Egyptians’ account of the test and
the proof to which they put this bull to see whether
he is of superior birth or not.

Bocchoris the King of Egypt ὃ acquired—I do not
know how—a false reputation and a fictitious renown
and appeared to be just in his judgments and to
have his heart set on righteousness. But by nature,
it seems, he was the reverse. Most of his actions I
pass over at present, but this is how, from a desire
to cause pain to the people of Egypt, he treated
Mneuis. He set a wild bull against him. So
Mneuis began to bellow and the newcomer bellowed
in answer. And then the stranger rushed forward
in anger intending to fall upon the bull beloved of
the god, but tripped and falling against the stem of
a persea-tree, broke his horn, whereupon Mneuis

¢ The Wooden Horse whereby the Greeks gained entry
into Troy. See Verg. Aen. 2. 13-267.
> Perh. 9th cent. B.C.

7 χιτρώσκων τῇ κεφαλῇ.

373

AELIAN

“~ 4 ~
αὐτόν. αἰδεῖται Βόκχορις, καὶ “μισοῦσιν αὐτὸν
Αἰγύπτιοι. εἰ δέ τις αἴσχιστον οἴεται ἐκ τῶν
“᾿ 3 “- -"
φυσικῶν λόγων ἐς μύθους ἐμπεσεῖν, μῶρός ἐστι.
λέγω γὰρ ὅσα τε δρᾶται ἐπὶ τοῖσδε τοῖς ταύροις
\ ὦ > Ul 4, 3 é / 3 ,ὔ
καὶ ὅσα ἐπράχθη καὶ ἀκούω λεγόντων Αἰγυπτίων.
οὐκ ἦν δὲ ἄρα... .3 οὕτω τὸ ψεῦδος ἐκείνοις
ἔχθιστόν ἐστι.

ξ Fal ~
12. Ot deAdives, τὸ μὲν φιλόμουσον αὐτῶν καὶ
A 4 ite) \ ὃ a? 3 ‘ ?
περὶ τὴν δὴν omovdatoy® τε Kat φιλόπονον
7 f 1 3 Ἀ hi i \ τ
κεκήρυκταί τε καὶ ἐς πολλοὺς ἐξεφοίτησε, καὶ ὥς
εἰσι φιλάνθρωποι ἄλλοι τε εἶπον καὶ ἡμεῖς ἄνω
7 κι / 3 “ 4, (9 oa
που διεξήλθομεν TH λόγῳ ἐνταυθοῖ δὲ εἰπεῖν
ὑπὲρ τῆς συνέσεως αὐτῶν οὐ χεῖρόν ἐστιν. ὅταν
γοῦν δικτύῳ περιπέσῃ δελφίς, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα
£ lA \ a / : ~
ἡσυχάζει Kat φυγῆς οὐδέν τι μέμνηται, edwyetras
A ~ ;
é τῶν συνεαλωκότων ἰχθύων, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ
δαῖτα ἥκων κλητὸς εἶτα ἐμφορεῖται αὐτῶν: ὅταν
ld ~ Fond
δὲ αἴσθηται ἐπισυρόμενος ὅτι γίνεται τῆς γῆς
? : “~ /
πλησίον, ἐνταῦθά τοι τὸ δίκτυον διατραγὼν
?
ἀπαλλάττεται καὶ ἔστιν ἐλεύθερος. ἐὰν δέ ποτε
ty, “κ“» φξ , a)
ἁλῷ, ob χαριέστεροι τῶν ἁλιέων ὁλόσχοινον
αὐτοῦ διείραντες τῶν ῥινῶν ἀφῆκαν αὐτόν 4. 6
\ e _\
δὲ οἷα τὸν ἔλεγχον αἰδούμενος οὐκέτι πλησιάζει
? ᾿ > ~ ‘4 1 5 , φ
σαγήνῃ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν. λέγει δὲ ᾿Αριστοτέλης ὅτι
Ἢ ¢ ~ Ἁ ~ “- Low
Kav ἁλῷ καὶ δεθῇ Kat ἐν τῇ σκάφῃ %, πολλοὶ
a ~ ~7~
περινήχονται δελφῖνες τὴν ἁλιάδα, Kal ἐς τοσοῦτον
΄- , “σι »»
πηδῶσί τε καὶ σκιρτῶσι δίκην ἱκετῶν, ἔστε
1 ἔχθιστος. ᾿
3. ὠδῆν on.) φωνὴν δικόν.
ἐπαφῆκαν αὐτὸν γνώρισμα τοῦτο εἰ ἐμπέσοι ἄρα τοῦ καὶ
πρόσθεν ἁλῶναι αὐτὸν περιφέρει.

374

2 Lacuna. ᾿

Se
.

. ἕ

ie

ieee
ay

Ee AGS

ΕΣ ἘΣ NE NE

atin
ie

eee
TOE

MEE

EEO NOR

SS
a
wos
e
᾿
;
:
nee
-
ΕἸ
ΕΗ
ε
ot
᾿

ON ANIMALS, XI. 11-12

wounded him in the flank and killed him. Boccharis.
was put to shame and the Egyptians loathed him. _

But if anyone considers it highly undignified to
drop from natural history into legend, he is a fool.
For I am stating what the practice is with these bulls,
and what then occurred, and what I hear Egyptians
say . . .4a lie to them is an abomination.

12. The Dolphins’ love of music and their eager The Dolphin

pursuit of song have been noised abroad and spread
to many quarters, and others have told of their
friendliness to man, and we ourselves have discoursed
upon it earlier on,? I think. But here 1 shall do well
to speak of their intelligence. At any rate when-
ever a Dolphin is enclosed in a net he keeps quiet to
begin with and does not think of escaping, but feasts
upon the fish that have been caught with him and,
as though invited to a banquet, takes his fill of them.
But as soon as he realises, while being drawn along,
that he is nearing the shore, he thereupon bites
through the net, escapes, and is free. If however
he is caught, the more kindly fishermen pass a
rush through his nostrils and let him go; and the
Dolphin, as though he were ashamed of the evidence
of his capture, never comes near a drag-net again.
And Aristotle says [HA 631 a 11] that whenever
one is caught and made fast and is in the fish-box,”
Dolphins swim round the boat in numbers and leap
so high and writhe like suppliants, until the fisher-

¢ The text is defective. The sense of the missing words
was perhaps ἡ This is no mere idle tale, for, etc.’

> See 2. 6.
¢ Or ‘tub’ into which the caught fish are thrown.

375

AELIAN

- A € , - ᾿

παθεῖν τι τοὺς ἁλιέας, καὶ οἰκτεῖραι μὲν τὸν
é > A “

δεσμώτην, εἶξαι δὲ τοῖς δεομένοις καὶ ἀπολῦσαι
“a 4 e ,

αὐτοῖς τὸν ἡρημένον. |

13. Addvidos τοῦ βουκόλου Τοῦ Συρακοσίου
παθόντος ὑπὸ τῆς νύμφης ταῦτα δήπου τὰ ὑμνού-
μενα, πέντε τροφίμους κύνας, τὸν Σιάννον 1 καὶ
τὸν Πόδαργον καὶ τὴν Λαμπάδα καὶ τὸν Αλκιμον
καὶ τὸν Θέοντα, θεασαμένους τοῦ δεσπότου τὰς
πάθας ἐπ αὐτῷ θάνατον ἐλέσθαι φασί, καὶ πολλὰ
μὲν ὀδύρασθαι 5 πρότερον, κλαῦσαι δὲ πάμ-
πολλα.

; 14. Διάφορα μὲν καὶ ποικίλα τῆς τῶν ἐλεφάντων
ἰδιότητος ἄνω μοι λέλεκται: νῦν δὲ εἰρήσεται ὅτι
καὶ μνήμην ἀγαθόν ἐστι τὸ ζῷον τοῦτο, καὶ
ἐντολὰς φυλάξαι οἷδε καὶ μὴ ψεύσασθαι τὴν τῶν
παρακαταθεμένων 6 τι οὖν αὐτῷ προσδοκίαν τε
καὶ ἐλπίδα. ὅτε γοῦν ᾿Αντίγονος ἐπολιόρκει
Μεγαρέας, evi τῶν ἐλεφάντων τῶν πολεμικῶν
συνετρέφετο καὶ θῆλυς, ὄνομα Νίκαια. ταύτῃ
τοίνυν ἡ τοῦ τρέφοντος αὐτὸν γυνὴ παιδίον, {δὲ ὃ
ἔτυχε τεκοῦσα πρὸ ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα, παρακατέ-
Dero * φωνῇ τῇ ᾿Ινδῶν, ἧς ἀκούουσιν ἐλέφαντες.
ὁ δὲ καὶ ἐφίλει τὸ παιδίον καὶ ἐφύλαττε, καὶ
κειμένου πλησίον ἤδετο, καὶ κνυξζωμένου > παρέ-
βλεπε, καὶ καθεύδοντος τῇ προβοσκίδι τὰς μυίας
ἀπεσόβει ὃ καλάμου κλαδὲ τοῦ παραβαλλομένου ἐς

1 ,

: Σάνον. | 5. Ges: ὀδύρεσθαι.

i <a> add. Ja. 4 Jac: καὶ παρα-.
κνυζομένου. 6 Schn: ἀνεσόβει.

376

ΠῚ
a
.

ae

τῇ:
tg

1, 11. EG

QE TE:

vs

ΞΩΣ

OA

‘ae

LES

OED

cass hopaiedaieanes See ee neee eres ΜΡ
ππρίσςς τ, ΟΡ ΤΣ τ REN YE ALIS HELO RU ρας REA TS ROC

ON ANIMALS, XI. 12-14

men feel a touch of sympathy and take pity on the
prisoner and yield to the entreating creatures and
release the captive to them.

13. They say that the five hounds, Sannus, The Hounds
of Daphnis

Podargus, Lampas, Alcimus, and Theon, kept by
Daphnis the neatherd of Syracuse who suifered his
well-known punishment at the hands of the Nymph,
at the sight of their master’s misfortune chose to
die after he died, having previously bewailed him
deeply and shed tears in abundance.

14. I have earlier on spoken of the differences and The

the varieties in the character of Elephants, and I oe

shall now tell what a good memory too this animal
has, how it can remember orders and not belie the
expectation and the hope of those who entrust it
with whatever it may be. For instance when
Antigonus ὃ was besieging Megara a female elephant
of the name of Nicaea was being kept along with one
of the war-elephants.. Now to this animal the wife
of the keeper entrusted a baby which she happened
to have borne a month before, speaking the Indian _
language, which Elephants understand. And the
Elephant grew fond of the child and used to look
after it, and liked to have it lying near, and would
glance at it when it whimpered; and when it slept
the Elephant would scare away the flies, holding in
her trunk a spray from the reeds which were thrown

a See Ael. VH 10.18. D. was beloved by a Nymph and
vowed to be faithful to her or to lose his sight. He was
seduced by a King’s daughter and suffered the penalty.

b A. Gonatas, vice-gerent of Demetrius TY, King of
Macedon, fought against Pyrrhus, besieged and recovered
Megara, perh. in 270 .c, See W. W. Tarn, Ant. Gon. 286.

| 377

be np — se rarer ewer eee να er re TA THEA I "μη υσιρικισυτανδθαλψιπαπαλιασισαιι 7 πα απ ΡΞ τ
ii eee Arn adaNNAb nRIMAAtENBA EV RMARDEIAEENSG ATTN τὴ Ὁ ᾿ oo -

AELIAN

τροφήν: εἰ δὲ 1 μὴ παρῆν τὸ βρέφος, τότε καὶ

A > va ἮΝ
τροφὴν ἀνεστέλλετο. οὐκοῦν ἔδει τὴν τρέφουσαν

) 4 ? An \ ~ tr : - \
αὐτὸ ἐμπλῆσαι μὲν τοῦ γάλακτος, παραθεῖναι δὲ
΄-ὠ ? a ~ on
τῷ κηδεμόνι, ἢ πάντως ἀγανακτῶν ἡ Νίκαια ἣν

“. \ ,
δῆλος καὶ τεθυμωμένος Kal τι καὶ δρασείων τῶν

“ 4
δεινῶν. πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἀνακλαύσαντος αὐτοῦ
3 \ / a
εἶτα τὴν σκάφην ἣ ἐνέκειτο διέσεισε, παραμυθούμε--:
΄ “ A fa Ὁ “-
νος τῷ σεισμῷ τὸ βρέφος, οἷα δήπου φιλοῦσι καὶ
\

¢ \ ¢ fd “~ ~ nw
at τροφοὶ καὶ at τίτθαι δρᾶν ποιῶν, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, ὃ

ἐλέφας.

15. Ζηλοτυπίαν ζῴων ἐνεργοτάτην διαφόρων ἐν
καιρῷ oida εἰπών, πορφυρίωνος καὶ κυνὸς καὶ
μέντοι καὶ πελαργοῦ νὴ Δία ἐκ τρίτου: νῦν δὲ ἔοικα
λέξειν ἐλέφαντος ὀργὴν ἐς γάμον ἀδικούμενον.
μοιχευομένην γὰρ τὴς τοῦ πωλεύσαντος αὐτὸν καὶ
τρέφοντος γυναῖκα ἐπ᾽ αὐτοφώρῳ καταλαβών, δι᾽
ἀμφοτέρων θάτερον διεὶς * τοῖν κεράτοιν, ἀπέκτεινε
καὶ τὸν μοιχὸν καὶ τὴν μοιχευομένην, καὶ εἴασε
κεῖσθαι κατὰ τῶν στρωμάτων {τῶν 8 ὑβρισμένων
καὶ τῆς εὐνῆς τῆς πεπατημένης, ὡς ἐλθόντα τὸν
πωλευτὴν καταγνῶναι καὶ τὸ ἀδίκημα καὶ τὸν
τιμωρήσαντα αὐτῷ γνωρίσαι. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν
᾿Ινδικὸν τὸ ἔργον, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ἐξεφοίτησε δεῦρο
3 ? \ 4 3 4 ὔ
ἀκούω δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ Τίτου ἃ ἀνδρὸς καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ
ev? τῇ Ρώμῃ ταὐτὸν γεγονέναι: προστιθέασι δὲ
ὅτι ἄρα ὃ ἐνθάδε ἐλέφας ἀπέκτεινεν ὃ ἀμφοτέρους,
καὶ ἱματίῳ 7 κατεκάλυψε, καὶ ἐλθόντι τῷ τροφεῖ
ἀποβαλὼν τὸ ἱμάτιον κειμένους ἀλλήλων πλησίον

1 Ges: εἴ γε. 2 πείρας.

8. ἐτῶν» add. ἢ.
378

a,

en eh maine nie op

(ἢ

eee

ΤΡ, Sey

ΓΨΨᾺἊᾺῃΒῴῃρΡΓῬ Γ

iin ἐς ἀλοος ξ ΦΈΣΣ ΩΣ εξ Nein Met et λυήξέρ dy. Uibeeaa Ba duzat fei betetexen| ΑΣΟΣ ΖΡ
ἜΣ ΘΙ 5 ἜΣΕΙ iz RG τὸς AEE ee
ἜΡΩΣ Beats a EES USE Ha: Eh ISH: ἢ PRESEN PERLE ED

Se Scie

le

ON ANIMALS, XI. 14-15

beside her as her fodder. And if the child was not
there she would actually put her own food aside.
And so the mother was obliged to give the child its
fill of milk and then place it beside its guardian,
otherwise Nicaea gave unmistakable signs of being
annoyed and angered and even of threatening mis-
chief. And often, if the baby started to ery, she
rocked the cradle in which it lay, comforting it as
nurses are in the habit of doing by the swaying—
and this, my fellow-men, was an Elephant.

15. I know that I have spoken appropriately of An Elephant

the very violent jealousy on the part of different poate

animals, viz the coot, the dog, and in the third place
the stork. But now I intend to speak of the anger
of an Elephant over an outraged marriage. Having
detected the wife of its trainer and keeper in the
very act of adultery, it drove one tusk through the
woman and one through her lover and killed them
both and left them lying amid the dishonoured
coverings on the desecrated bed, so that when the
trainer came he might note their sin and recognise
his avenger. This happened in India, but the deed
travelled from there to these shores, and I learn
that in the reign of Titus, that good and noble
man, the same thing occurred in Rome, but they
add that the Elephant there killed both the offenders
and covered them with a cloak which on the arrival
of its keeper it threw off and revealed the two lying

4 Ges: τόπου Ῥωμαίων βασιλέυοντος MSS, Ῥωμ. Bac. del. Η.
ὅ καὶ ἐν, δ ἀπέκτεινε μέν.
7 ἐν ἱματίῳ.

319

ry

AELIAN

> 7 So 4 A , ᾽ = εν
ἀπέδειξε, καὶ τὸ κέρας δέ, ᾧπερ οὖν διέπειρεν
3 ~ ¢ , “ ᾿
αὐτούς, καὶ τοῦτο ἡμαγμένον ἑωρᾶτο.
2 ot > , o
16. Ἴδιον δὲ ἦν ἄρα τῶν δρακόντων Kat ἡ
4 3 ~ f ~
μαντική. ἐν γοῦν Λαουνίῳ Σ T@* πολίοματι,
“» La
ὅπερ τῆς Λατίνων χώρας ἐστί (κέκληται δὲ ἀπὸ
τῆς Λατίψου θυγατρὸς Aaovwias,” ἡνίκα Λατῖνος
~ /
Αἰνείᾳ συνεμάχησε κατὰ τῶν καλουμένων “Ῥου-
τουλῶν, εἶτα ἐνίκησεν αὐτούς" ἐκτισε ΣΖᾷδὲ
"5" i €
Αἰνείας 6 ᾿Αγχίσου 6 Teas τὴν πόλιν τὴν προει-
f 3} > at ~ ¢€ 7 2
ρημένην, εἴη δ΄ ἂν τῆς Ῥώμης μητρομήτωρ, ὡς
lan 1
dv εἴποι τις" ἐντεῦθεν yap ὁρμηθεὶς ᾿Ασκάνιος 6
2 ,ὔ 4 ~
Αἰνείου καὶ Kpeovons τῆς Τρωάδος ᾧκισε τὴν
“AX > AA “΄-- ὃ \ € ¢ / 3 “ ? ~
Bay, βανῶν δὲ ἡ “Ῥώμη ἄποικος)" οὐκοῦν
“ ld [τ mn
ἐν τῷ Λαουινίῳ ὅ ἄλσος τιμᾶται μέγα καὶ δασύ,
\ Ψ»΄Ἰ ;
καὶ ἔχει πλησίον νεὼν “Ἥρας ᾿Αργολίδος.. ἐν δὲ
-ο bd ‘4 >
τῷ ἄλσει φωλεός ἐστι μέγας καὶ βαθύς, Kat ἔστι
[4 7 é ς
κοίτη δράκοντος. παρθένοι τε ἱεραὶ νενομισμέναις
3, 3 ΄- ral
ἡμέραις παρίασιν ἐς τὸ ἄλσος ἐν τοῖν χεροῖν
7 7 ‘ A’ 3 : “
φέρουσαι μάξαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τελαμῶσι
7 2}; 4 3 4
κατειλημέναι ᾿ ἄγει δὲ αὐτὰς εὐθύωρον ἐπὶ τὴν
κοίτην τοῦ δράκοντος πνεῦμα θεῖον, καὶ ἀπταίστως
ah, 4 4 ε ~ vw Ss Ψ
προΐασι βάδην καὶ ἡσυχῆ, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀκαλύπτοις
ὁρῶσαι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς. καὶ ἐὰν μὲν παρθένοι
ῃ \ ¢
ὦσι, προσίεται τὰς τροφὰς ζἄτεΣ ἁγνὰς ὁ
a. , -
δράκων καὶ πρεπούσας ζῴῳ θεοφιλεῖ: εἰ δὲ μή,
BS , ~
ἄπαστοι 8 μένουσι, προειδότος αὐτοῦ τὴν φθορὰν
1 Schn: Λαουαινείῳ.
3 Schn: Λαουαινείας.
4 Freinsheim: ἐνίκησε MSS, ᾧκισοε Η.
5 Schn: Λαουινείῳ. |
8 Cobet: κατειλημμέναι MSS, H.

2 χῷδε τῷ.

380

ye

SN IE

IL ΠΣ 72.

ΤΣ

ΓΤ,
val

Gees
yi

ΤΣ ΠΣ Ὸ 7)

Le

ON ANIMALS, XI. 15-16

side by side, while the tusk with which it had
pierced them was seen to be stained with blood.

16. It seems that one peculiarity of snakes is their
faculty of divination. At any rate in the town of
Lavinium,* which is in Latium—it is so named
after Lavinia the daughter of Latinus at the time
when he fought as an ally of Aeneas against the
people called Rutulians and overcame them. And
Aeneas of Troy, son of Anchises, founded the afore-
said town; and it might be, in a manner of speak-
ing, the grandmother of Rome, because it was
from Rome that Ascanius, the son of Aeneas and
Creiisa the Trojan, set out to found Alba, and Rome
was a colony of Alba.—Well, there is a sacred
grove in Lavinium of wide area and thickly
planted, and near by is a shrine to Hera of
Argolis. And in the grove there is a vast and deep
cavern, and it is the lair of a Serpent. And on
certain fixed days holy maidens enter the grove
bearing a barley-cake in their hands and with their
eyes bandaged. And divine inspiration leads them
straight to the Serpent’s resting-place, and they
move forward without stumbling and at a gentle
pace just as if they saw with their eyes unveiled.
And if they are virgins, the Serpent accepts the food
as sacred and as fit for a creature beloved of god.

Otherwise the food remains untasted, because the

Serpent already knows and has divined their impurity.
And ants crumble the cake of the deflowered maid

2 A. has confused ‘ Lavinium’ and ‘ Lanuvium’; see Prop.

4,8. 5 ff

7 <dre> add. Jac. 8 ἄψαυστοι W, H.

381

The Serpent
of Lavinium

AELIAN

καὶ μεμαντευμένου. μύρμηκες δὲ τὴν μάζαν τὴν
τῆς διακορηθείσης ἐς μικρὰ καταθρύψαντες, ὡς
ἂν εὔφορα αὐτοῖς εἴη, εἶτα ἐκφέρουσιν ἔξω τοῦ
ἄλσους, καθαίροντες τὸν τόπον. γνωρίζεταί τε

ς- \ A » / \ ᾿ ᾿ς τς
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων τὸ πραχθέν, καὶ at παρελθοῦσαι,

3λ ; \ Φ 4 / 3 [4
ἐλέγχονται, καὶ ἣ γε τὴν παρθενίαν αἰσχύνασα ταῖς
~ ? 7
ἐκ τοῦ νόμου κολάζεται τιμωρίαις. μαντικὴν μὲν
4 ᾽ὔ 51 3 7 »
δὴ δρακόντων ἂν ἀποφήναιμι τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.

17. Λέγει μὲν οὖν “Ὅμηρος χαλεποὶ δὲ θεοὶ
φαίνεσθαι ἐναργεῖς. οὐκοῦν ἔχει τι καὶ δράκων
ὁ ἐν ταῖς ἁγιωτάταις τιμαῖς θειότερον, καὶ ἰδεῖν 1
οὐ λυσυτελὲς αὐτόν. καὶ ὅ γε λέγω τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν.
ἐν Μετήλει 3 τῆς Αἰγύπτου δράκων ἐστὶν ἱερὸς ἐν
πύργῳ, καὶ τετίμηται καὶ ἔχει θεραπευτὰς καὶ
ὑπηρέτας, καὶ κεῖταί οἱ τράπεζα καὶ κρατήρ. ἐς
τοῦτον οὖν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν ὃ ἡμέραν ἄλφιτα ἀναδεύσαν-
τες μελικράτῳ εἶτα ἀπίασι, καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ
ὑποστρέψαντες κενὸν τὸν κρατῆρα εὑρίσκουσιν.
οὐκοῦν ὁ πρεσβύτατος τῶνδε τῶν ὑπηρετῶν
ἵμερον δριμύτατον ἔσχε θεάσασθαι τὸν δράκοντα,
καὶ παρελθὼν μόνος καὶ ποιήσας τὰ εἰθισμένα ὑπ-
απέστη ὁ δὲ ἀνελθὼν ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν 6
δράκων εἱστιᾶτο. καὶ τὰς θύρας 6 πολυπράγμων
ἀνοίξας (ἔτυχε γὰρ κατὰ τὰ εἰθισμένα ἐπικλείσαςῚ)
ψόφον εἰργάσατο ἰσχυρόν. ὃ δράκων δὲ ἠγανάκ-
THE καὶ “ἀνεχώρησεν, ὁ δὲ ἰδὼν ὃν ἐπόθει σὺν
τῷ ἑαυτοῦ κακῷ, γίνεται μὲν ἐκῴρων, εἰπὼν δὲ
ὅσα εἶδε καὶ ὡς ἠσέβησεν ὁμολογήσας, ἣν ἄφωνος,
εἶτα οὐ μετὰ μακρὸν πεσὼν ἀπέθανεν.

1 Schn: εἰδέναι.
3

382

2 Wesseling : Μελίτῃ.

πᾶσαν τήν. ᾿ 4 ἀπέστη ἢ.

ἘΣ
(Po;

ἜΣ

ἢ

ΠῚ

ΩΣ νος, Pisa haters SER

LS AULA ASCE NG DESERT OEE TS Ss TRIES WT OR

ON ANIMALS, XI. 16-17

into small pieces so that they can be carried easily,
and transport them without the grove, cleansing the
spot. And the inhabitants get to know what has
occurred and the maidens who came in are ex-
amined, and the one who has shamed her virginity
is punished in accordance with the law.

This is the way in which I would demonstrate the
faculty of divination in serpents.

17. Now Homer says [Jl. 20. 131] ‘ but gods are
hard to endure when seen clear to view.’ And so
even a serpent which is honoured by the most sacred
rites has in it something of the divine, and to look
upon it is not profitable. And what I mean is this.
In Metelis,¢ a town of Egypt, there is a sacred
Serpent in a tower, and it receives honours and has
ministers and servants, and before it are set a table
and a bowl. So every day they pour barley into
this bowl and soak it in honey and milk and then
depart, returning on the following day to find the
bowl empty. Now the eldest servant felt a keen
desire to set eyes upon the Serpent, and coming by
himself performed the usual duties and withdrew.
And the Serpent mounted on the table and feasted.
And this busybody in opening the doors (he had
closed them as was the custom) made a loud noise.
The Serpent was indignant and retired, while the
man who had seen the creature whom he wished to
see, to his own undoing, went out of his mind, told
what he had witnessed, and confessed his impious
deed, became dumb, and shortly afterwards fell
down dead.

@ Town in the NW of the Delta.

333

A. sacred

Serpent and

the penalty
of inqui-
sitiveness

AELIAN

18. Ἴδια δὲ dpa τῶν ξῴων καὶ ταῦτά ἐστιν. ὁ
ταὼς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ βασκανθῆναι λίνου ῥίζαν οἱονεὶ
περίαπτόν τι φυσικὸν ἀναζητήσας, ὑπὸ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ
πτέρυγι βύσας περιφέρει. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἵππος *
τὰ οὖρα εἰ ἐπισχεθείη, ; ;
φορεῖ ξώνην ἐὰν αὐτὸν παίσῃ * κατὰ τοῦ προσώπου
τῇ ζώνῃ, παραχρῆμα ἐξουρεῖν ἀθρόως καὶ τῆς
ὀδύνης παύεσθαι. θήλειαν δὲ ἵππον ἐς ἀφροδίσια
λυττήσασαν πάνυ σφόδρα παῦσαι ῥᾳδίως ἔστιν, ὡς
᾿Αριστοτέλης λέγει, εἴ τις αὐτῆς ἀποκείρειε ὃ τὰς
κατὰ τοῦ τένοντος τρίχας" αἰδεῖται γάρ, καὶ οὐκ
ἀτακτεῖ, καὶ παύεται τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τοῦ σκιρτήμα-
τος τοῦ πολλοῦ, κατηφήσασα ἐπὶ τῇ αἰσχύνῃ.
τοῦτό τοι καὶ Σοφοκλῆς αἰνίττεται ἐν τῇ Tupot
τῷ δράματι: πεποίηται δέ οἱ αὕτη λέγουσα, καὶ
ἃ λέγει ταῦτά ἐστιν

κόμης δὲ πένθος λαγχάνω πώλου δίκην,

ἥτις συναρπασθεῖσα βουκόλων ὕπο

μάνδραις ἐν ἱππείαισιν ἀγρίᾳ χερὶ

θέρος θερισθῇ ξανθὸν αὐχένων ἄπο,
σπασθεῖσα ὃ δ᾽ ἐς λειμῶνα ἴ ποταμίων ποτῶν
ἴδῃ σκιᾶς εἴδωλον ἀνταυγὲς τύπῳ ὃ

κουραῖς ἀτίμως διατετιλμένης φόβην."

φεῦ, κἂν ἀνοικτίρμων τις οἰκτείρειέ vw
πτήσσουσαν αἰσχύνῃσιν, οἷα μαίνεται
πενθοῦσα καὶ κλαίουσα τὴν πάρος φόβην.

a 3
19. MeAAovons δὲ οἰκίας καταφέρεσθαι αἰσθη-
“Κ΄ ων f A ?
τικῶς ἔχουσιν οἵ τε ἐν αὐτῇ μύες καὶ μέντοι καὶ

2 ἐπισχεθῇ.
4 παίῃ.

1 Jac: ἵππου.
8 Jac: παρθένου, -ov.

384

A]
παρθένος ἃ λύσασα ἣν

Ley

LSB ETRY SES EEN IRS I te HS RES NTS GIES SRE SSS ER ASSURE SER | OS ES To SIN

ON ANIMALS, XI. 18-19

18. Here are further peculiarities of animals. The
Peacock in order to escape the influence of the evil
eye seeks out a root of flax as a kind of natural
amulet and carries it about packed under one wing.
And it is said that if a horse suffers from a retention
of urine, and a maiden strikes him across the face
with the girdle she is wearing, he immediately stales
copiously and is relieved of his pain. And when a
mare shows an altogether frenzied desire to go a-
horsing it is easy to arrest her, according to Aristotle
[HA 572 b 7], if one clips the mane on her neck.
For she feels shame and is no longer skittish and
drops her wantonness and her constant frisking and
is downcast at her disgrace. And Sophocles, you
remember, in his drama of Tyro hints at this. Tyro
is represented as speaking, and this is what she says

[.fr. 659 P]:

‘ But it is my lot to grieve for my hair, even as a
filly which seized by neatherds in the stables has
had the yellow harvest reaped from her neck with
ruthless hand; and haled to the meadow to drink
of the stream, beholds the mirrored image of her
reflexion with the hair cropped beneath the shears
to her dishonour. Alas! even a pitiless heart
would pity her, cowering in her shame, to see how
wild are her grief and her tears for her lost hair.’

19. When a house is on the verge of ruin the mice

in it, and the martens also, forestall its collapse and
5 ἀποκείρει, 8 σπάσουσα H after GHermann.
* Pearson: ἐν λειμῶνι MSS, Η.
8 Pearson: αὐγασθεῖσ᾽ ὑπό MSS, αἰκισθεῖο᾽ Haupt, H.
9. Brunck: φόβης MSS, H.
385

VOL. IT. oO

Safeguards

an
remedies
for animals

Animals give
warning of
impending
disaster

AELIAN ON ANIMALS, XI. 19

emigrate. This, you know, is what they say hap-
pened at Helice,* for when the people of Helice
treated so impiously the Ionians who had come to

them, and murdered them at their altar, then it was

(in the words of Homer [Od. 12. 394]) that “ the gods
showed forth wonders among them.’ For five days

before Helice disappeared all the mice and martens

and snakes and centipedes and beetles and every

other creature of that kind in the town left in a body

by the road that leads to Cerynea.” And the people

of Helice seeing this happening were filled with
amazement, but were unable to guess the reason.

But after the aforesaid creatures had departed, an |
earthquake occurred in the night; the town col- Earthquake
lapsed ;. an immense wave poured over it, and Helice ** 29°
disappeared, while ten TLacedaemonian_ vessels _
which happened to be at anchor close by were
destroyed together with the city I speak of. |
Justice at the same time uses animals as her
ministers to punish impious men. Witness the case

of Pantacles the Lacedaemonian ὁ who, after pre-
venting some of the artists of Dionysus ὁ who were’

on their way to Cythera from passing through
Sparta, later, when seated upon the Ephor’s throne,

was torn to pieces by dogs. |

a A .
φαΐ) 1 γαλαῖ, καὶ φθάνουσι τὴν καταφορὰν καὶ
ae Ue a 7? ? 4 > a VE
éfouxilovrat. τοῦτό τοί φασι Kat ἐν. Ὥλικῃ
bet “θ “ ᾿ > 2 ἢ ἊΝ ως
γενέσθαι. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἠσέβησαν ἐς τοὺς ᾿ἰωνας

1 3g ; ᾿ς ς 7 a ν 51 eat ike
τοὺς ἀφικομένους οἱ λικήσιοι, καὶ ἐπὶ βωμοῦ
-- 1 ¢@¢ ae |
ἀπέσφαξαν αὐτούς, ἐνταῦθα δήπου (τὸ “Ομηρικὸν
τοῦτο) τοῖσιν δὲ θεοὶ τέραα προὔφαινον" πρὸ
4 se \ ¢ ~ - 3 OF \ "HAL
mévTé yap ἡμερῶν τοῦ ἀφανισθῆναν τὴν λίκην,
ὅσοι μύες ἐν αὐτῇ ἦσαν καὶ γαλαῖ καὶ ὄφεις καὶ
σκολόπενδραι καὶ σφονδύλαι καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ὅσα ἦν
~ ; 4) ? e ’ὔ, “ “ὃ “ “3 K , 2
τοιαῦτα, ἀθρόα ὑπεξήει τῇ ὁδῷ TH ἐς Kepvverav
> , ξ: νιν ἐ , ς κα ἜΝ ;
ἐκφερούσῃ. οἱ δὲ “Ἑλικήσιοι ὁρῶντες Ta“ πρατ-
τόμενα ἐθαύμαζον μέν, οὐκ εἶχον δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν
συμβαλεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀνεχώρησε τὰ προειρημένα
~ es ΠΝ \ ; aa
ξῷα, νύκτωρ γίνεται σεισμός, καὶ ovvilaver ἡ
: “- f : ¢ ς
πόλις, καὶ ἐπικλύσαντος πολλοῦ κύματος ἡ “HAiky
3 f \ Ἁ 7 A ὃ : ,ὔ 3
ἠφανίσθη, καὶ κατὰ τύχην Λακεδαιμονίων ὑφορ-
μοῦσαι 4 δέκα νῆες συναπώλοντο τῇ προειρημένῃ ὃ
strain 7 Oh ee ee
χρῆται δὲ ἅμα és τιμωρίαν τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν
ὑπηρέταις τοῖς ζῴοις ἡ Δίκη. καὶ τὸ ὃ μαρτύριον,
Παντακλῆς ἴ 6 Λακεδαιμόνιος ἀναστείλας διὰ τῆς
-- ὔ ~
Σπάρτης. ἐλθεῖν τοὺς ἐς Κύθηρα ἀπιόντας τῶν
περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν, εἶτα καθήμενος ἐν
τῷ ἐφορείῳ ὑπὸ κυνῶν διεσπάσθη. nee

. RS
3 SS 3
RE
" I
5 πῆς:
Re
peed
&

Oy
Be
BD?

τ

͵
|
Ε
=

susie εν

Fe 4 Si
SIE Ἢ

α In Achaia, about 14 mi. from the Gulf of Corinth... In
373 B.c. delegates from Ionia came to beg for the statue of
a) eee Ὁ δὲ, ἡ ae : ᾿ς Poseidon in Helice or at least for a plan of his temple and
2 ee hk A ΣΝ ἐς ; : altar, and at the very altar they were murdered by the people:
oe ee 7 of Helice. In the same year the town was destroyed by an
re sua 5 πόλ earthquake. See Frazer on Paus. 8. 24. 6.

; ὑφορμοῦσαι TH πόλει. > Hill-town, a short distance αὶ of Helice.
§

RS
cS
i
δὰ
δὴν
δ
Re
ΠΣ
eR
ei
=
st
Se
ie
Ng
ἐν
Ree
ae
sh
RS
ae
i
ἘΣ
ΝΣ
Se
Ss:
ug
ΝΗ
Ni,
ys
RIN
Sey
SOR
SoS
RE
ag
SS
mS:
say
ne:
oe
a
Say
Bi
Ἂς
a4
5a
a
aH
a
as
a
ES
ae

προεἰρημένῃ θαλάσσης ἐπικλύσει πολλῇ. ᾿ ὁ Pantacles is named as Ephor for the year 407 B.C. in two
ile resi, Mo PA, a interpolated passages of Xenophon, Hell. 1. 3. 1 and 2. 3. 10.
GUTOR ES CUED ΚΑΘϑ IS 4 Actors and musicians. 7

386 381.

ἌΡ RH

PEEP Ups ea

Se

Ἢ

Se
=
ἘΣ
Sy

AELIAN

20. Ἔν Σικελίᾳ ᾿Αδρανός ἐστι πόλις, ws "λέγει
Νυμφόδωρος, καὶ ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ ᾿Αδρανοῦ
νεώς, ἐπιχωρίου δαίμονος: πάνυ δὲ ἐναργῆ φησιν
εἶναι τοῦτον. καὶ τἄλλα μὲν ὅσα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ
λέγει, καὶ ὅπως ἐμφανής ἐστι καὶ ἐς τοὺς δεομέ-
νους εὐμενής τε ἅμα καὶ ἵλεως, (ἄλλοτε 5
εἰσόμεθα: νῦν δὲ ἐκεῖνα εἰρήσεται. κύνες εἰσὶν
ἱεροί, καὶ οἵδε θεραπευτῆρες αὐτοῦ καὶ λατρεύοντές
οἱ, ὑπεραίροντες τὸ κάλλος τοὺς Μολοττοὺς κύνας
καὶ σὺν τούτῳ καὶ τὸ μέγεθος, χιλίων οὐ μείους
τὸν ἀριθμόν. οὐκοῦν οὗτοι μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν μὲν
αἰκάλλουσί τε καὶ σαίνουσι τοὺς ἐς τὸν νεὼν καὶ τὸ
ἄλσος παριόντας, εἴτε εἶεν ξένοι εἴτε ἐπιχώριοι:
νύκτωρ δὲ τοὺς μεθύοντας ἤδη καὶ σφαλλομένους
κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν οἷδε πομπῶν δίκην καὶ ἡγεμόνων
μάλα εὐμενῶς 8 ἄγουσι, προηγούμενοι ἐς τὰ
οἰκεῖα ἑκάστῳ, καὶ τῶν μὲν παροινούντων τιμω-
ρίαν ἀρκοῦσαν ἐσπράττονται' ἐμπηδῶσι γὰρ καὶ
τὴν ἐσθῆτα αὐτοῖς καταρρηγνύουσι, καὶ σωφρονί-
Covow ® ἐς τοσοῦτον αὐτούς: τούς γε μὴν πει-
ρωμένους λωποδυτεῖν διασπῶσι πικρότατα.

21, Κοχλίας δὲ ἄρα θαλάττιος ὁ ἐν τῇ ᾿Ἐρυθρᾷ
θαλάττῃ γινόμενος ὡραιότατος ἰδεῖν ἦν καὶ
μέγιστος" ἔστι μὲν γὰρ φοῖνιξ τὸ ἔλυτρον, ἔχει
δὲ καὶ ἕλικα ὃ διηνθισμένην καὶ πεποικιλμένην
ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως. στέφανον ἂν εἴποις ὁρᾶν ἔκ
τινος πολυχροίας ἀνθῶν διαπλακέντα 8 πρασίνων

2 «ἄλλοτες add. H.

1 δεομένους πρόχειρος.
τ ka
4 éxaorov.

3 Schn: εὐγενῶς.
5 Ges: σωφρονοῦσιν.

388

ON ANIMALS, XI. 20-21

20. Adranus is a town in Sicily,* according to
Nymphodorus, and in this town there is a temple to
Adranus, a local divinity. And they say that he is
there in very presence. And all that Nymphodorus
tells of him besides, and how he shows himself and
how kindly and favourable he is to his suppliants, we
shall learn some other time. But now I shall give
the following facts. There are sacred Hounds and
they are his servants and ministers; they surpass
Molossians in beauty and in size as well, and there
are not less than a thousand of them. Now in the
daytime they welcome and fawn upon visitors to the
shrine and the grove, whether they be strangers or
natives. But at night they act as escorts and leaders,
and with great kindness conduct those who are.
already drunk and staggering along the road, guiding
each one to his own house, while those who indulge in.
tipsy frolics they punish as they deserve, for they
leap upon them and rip their clothes to pieces and
chasten them to that extent. But those who are
bent on highway robbery they tear most savagely.

Sacred

Hounds in
the temple
of Adranus

21. There is, it seems, a marine snail which is ree ta Sea

born in the Red Sea and of great beauty and very
large. Its shell is purple and its spiral has been
decorated and made gay by Nature.? You would
say you were looking at a garland subtly woven of

« On the SW slopes of mt Etna.
ὁ This is the Mitra papalis, Gossen ὃ 20.

§ ἕλικα μεστήν MSS, καλλίστην Jac.
‘ φύσεως κόσμῳ δὲπεριττῷ.

f
8 ποικίλως διαπλακέντα.

389

. ABELIAN

\ an 4. ’ $ AAG ~
τε Kal χρυσοειδῶν καὶ κινναβαρίνων, ἐναλλὰξ τῶν
: / 3}
χρωμάτων κατεσπαρμένων διαστήμασιν + ἴσοις.

ΓΝ t > /
22. Tov deAdiva ἡ φύσις ἀεικίνητον εἰργάσατο,
: am 4 A
ὥς φασι, καὶ πέρας τούτῳ τῆς κινήσεως TO Kal

A , 2 4 “ 5 , 7, ..
του βίου. VITVOV youv εομένος μετεωρισὰας TO
2 3,

. ee) ͵ 4... 2. » 1 Φ e
σῶμα Kal ἀναπλεύσας ἐπ᾽ ἄκρον τὸ ὕδωρ, ws
ὁρᾶσθαι πᾶς, καταδαρθάνει τηνικάδε: ἄυπνος δὲ
καὶ ἄμοιρος τοῦδε τοῦ θεοῦ οὐδὲ οὗτός ἐστιν. ὅτε
~ 7 3 “ 3 7 φ “᾿ 3 3
γοῦν καθεύδει, ὠθεῖται ἐς βυθόν, ἕως ἂν ψαύσῃ 3
τῆς κάτω γῆς. ὅταν δὲ προσπελασθῇ αὐτῇ,
διυπνίζεται κρουσθεὶς πρὸς τὸ δάπεδον, εἶτα
ἀναδύνει. καὶ πάλιν ἐς ὕπνον ὑπαχθεὶς καὶ
νικώμενος. τοῦ θεοῦ κατολισθάνει, καὶ αὖθις
ἀφυπνισθεὶς τῇ αὐτῇ κρούσει ἀναπλεῖ πάλιν. καὶ
πολλάκις δρᾷ τοῦτο, μεταξὺ ἡσυχίας καὶ ἐνεργείας
ὦν, οὐ μὴν ἐς ἀκινησίαν ἐκπίπτων παντελῆ ποτε.

23. Ἔν τῇ ἊἜρυθρᾷ θαλάττῃ γίνεται ἰχθὺς
πλατὺς τὸ σχῆμα κατὰ τὴν βούγλωττον, ὥς φασι.
καὶ φολίδας μὲν οὐ σφόδρα τραχύς ἐστι προσαψα-
μένῳ, τὴν χρόαν δὲ ὑπόχρυσός ἐστι, μελαίναις τε
γραμμαῖς ἐς τὸ οὐραῖον ἀπὸ. τῆς κεφαλῆς ἄκρας
καταγέγραπται. εἴποι. τις ἂν αὐτὰς εἶναι χορδὰς
ἐντεταμένας: ἔνθεν τοι καὶ {ὃν 4 ἰχθὺς αὐτὸς
κιθαρῳδὸς κέκληται. τὸ στόμα δὲ αὐτῷ συνίζει
καὶ ἔστι μέλαν ἰσχυρῶς, ζώνῃ γε μὴν κροκοειδεῖ
κατείληπται" πεποίκιλται δέ οὗ ἡ κορυφὴ διαφόρως
TH τε χρυσοειδεῖ αὐγῇ καὶ μέντοι καὶ μελαΐναις
τισὶ περιγραφαῖς. καὶ πτερύγια χρυσοειδῇ ἔχει,

1 τοῖς ὃ. 2 βίου τέλος.

390

q
Ses
Ἢ
Ἢ
Re
ἐπ
ἘΝ
κε,
se}
Sun!
RS
a
eS
a 4
ἡ τὴ Σ
Ban
Ni
ee
Ys:
so
Sot
By
De
as
aS
a
᾿:
7
.
EN
ἐξ
Re
ΕἾ
SS.
“
ΕΗ
Ἂς
Ds
Θὲ
SS
2.
A

ON ANIMALS, XI. 21-23

flowers of varied hue, green and golden and ver-
milion, the colours alternating at equal intervals.

22. Nature, they say, has caused the Dolphin to
be in perpetual motion, and for the Dolphin motion
ends with the end of life. At any rate when in need
of sleep it rises and floats up to the surface so that
its whole body is visible, and then goes to sleep.

Even the Dolphin is not unsleeping or devoid of ἃ

share of the god of sleep. At all events when it does
sleep it sinks into the depths until it touches the
bottom, and when it reaches it, it wakes on the
impact with the floor of the sea and rises again.
And again when overcome by sleep and subdued by.

the god, down it sinks, and again-when roused by the

impact as before, up it floats; and it does this time
after time, being half-way between repose and
activity, and yet never once does it lapse into
complete immobility.

98. In the Red Sea. there occurs a flat-fish shaped The
like the sole, so they say. Its scales are not very ssh

rough to the touch; its colour is golden, and from
head-tip to tail it is marked with black lines. One
might describe them as tense strings, which is the
reason why the fish itself is called the ‘ Harper.’ 4.
Its mouth is compressed and is a deep black and. is
enclosed in a saffron-coloured ring;. its head is
variegated, gleaming like gold and with black lines,.
It has fins like gold, but its tail is black except at the

The Dolphin
in perpetual

motion

Harper

* A species of Chactodont, a brightly-coloured fish inhabiting |

coral-reefs,

3

4 ¢8> add. H.

ἕως ψαύσει.

ΟΣ

AELIAN

/ : \ > “~ ξ >» A bY “ “2 . “-
μέλαινα δὲ αὐτῷ ἡ οὐρὰ πλὴν τῶν ἄκρων", ταῦτα
δὲ λευκὰ ἰσχυρῶς. καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ ἄδονται κιθαρῳδοὶ
τίκτεσθαι.1 καί εἰσι πορφυροῖ μὲν τὸ πᾶν σῶμα,
γραμμὰς ἐκ 5 διαστημάτων ἔχοντες χρυσᾶς: ζώνας
δ᾽ ἔχουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ κεφαλῇ tous τοῖς ἄνθεσι 5 παρα-
πλησίας, τὴν μὲν πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μέχρι τῶν
βραγχίων καθέρπουσαν, τὴν δὲ μετὰ τοὺς ὀφθαλ-
μοὺς ἐς τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς κεφαλῆς προχωροῦσαν, τὴν
δὲ περιθέουσαν κατὰ τῆς δέρης ὡς ὅρμον.

24, Πάρδαλις δὲ ἰχθὺς ἐν τῇ ᾿Ἐρυθρᾷ φύεται
θαλάττῃ, ὡς οἱ θεασάμενοι λέγουσι, καὶ ἔοικε τὴν
χρόαν καὶ τὰ στίγματα τὰ “περιφερῆ τῇ ὀρείῳ
παρδάλει. ὁ δὲ ὀξύρυγχος ὁ ἐνταῦθα γινόμενος
ἔχει μὲν πρόμηκες ἃ τὸ στόμα, τοὺς δὲ ὀφθαλμοὺς

-Φ \ \ ? ἣν - 3 [αὶ 7) -ῷ X
χρυσοειδεῖς, τὰ δὲ βλέφαρα αὐτῷ λευκά: τῷ δὲ
νώτῳ οἱ σημεῖά τε ἐπέστικται ὠχρά, καὶ πτέρυγες
αὐτῷ ai μὲν παρ᾽ ἑκάτερα ὅ μέλαιναι, αἱ δὲ
νωτιαῖαι λευκαί: καὶ ἡ οὐρὰ προμήκης τὸ σχῆμα,
τὴν δὲ χρόαν πράσινός ἐστι, μέσην δὲ αὐτὴν

διείληφε χρυσοειδὴς γραμμή.

25. Τῷ Πτολεμαίῳ τῷ δευτέρῳ, ὃν καὶ Φιλά-
δελῴον καλοῦσι, βρέφος ἐλέφαντος ὃ δῶρον ἐδόθη,
καὶ τῇ φωνῇ ἐνετράφη ? τῇ “Ἑλλάδι, καὶ λαλούν-
των συνίει. ἐπεπίστευτο δὲ πρὸ τοῦδε τοῦ ζῴου
τῆς ᾿Ινδῶν μόνης φωνῆς ἐπαΐειν τοὺς ἐλέφαντας.

ΟῚ i 4 Ἁ ΄“Γ

26. "Kouce δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀλόγοις ὑπὸ τῆς
΄- 7 ba ~ ¢ 4

φύσεως προτιμᾶσθαι τὸ ἄρρεν. ἔχει γοῦν ὁ μὲν

4 ’ 2g 2
1 στικτοὶ τίκτεσθα:. δὲ ἐκ.

392

ON ANIMALS, XI. 23-26

tip, and that is the purest white. And other kinds
of Harper are said to occur: some are purple all
over, with golden lines at intervals. They have
rings the colour of gilliflowers on their head: one
descends from below the eyes down to the gills,
another extends from behind the eyes half-way
down the head, and another encircles the neck like
a necklace.

24, The Leopard-fish is native to the Red Sea, the
according to those who have seen it, and in its colour ae
and circular markings resembles the leopard of the
mountains. |

The Oxyrhynchus, which occurs there, has an the: Oxy-
elongated mouth, eyes like gold, and white eyelids, tbynchus’
There are pale markings on its back, but the fins on
either side are black, while the dorsal fins are white.

Its tail is oblong in shape and its colour is green, and
a streak of gold bisects it.

25. Ptolemy the Second, also called Philadelphus, Ptolemy 12
was presented with a young Elephant, and it was Hlephant
brought up where the Greek language was used, and
understood those who spoke it. Up to the time of
this particular animal it was believed that Elephants
only understood the language spoken by the Indians.

26. It seems that among brute beasts also Nature The Male

has put the male above the female. At any rate #2q@Or to

3 rois d. del. Cobet.
5 wap €.] πρῶται.
8. Gron: ἐλαφου, and below, ἐλάφους.
7 Schn: ἀνετράφη.

4 Ges: προμήκης, -κη.

VOL. I ly P

AELIAN

δράκων 6 ἄρρην τὸν λόφον καὶ τὴν ὑπήνην,

ὃ δὲ ἀλεκτρυὼν καὶ οὗτος <rov> * λόφον καὶ τὰ

_ κάλλαια,3 ὃ δὲ ἔλαφος Σ τὰ κέρατα, {τὴν ὃ
ye ye ς » - Ἁ ,

χαίτην 6 λέων, ὃ τέττιξ THY φωνήν.

27. Ὑπόθεσις μὲν τοῖς ᾿Αχαιοῖς καὶ τοῖς Τρωσὶ

τοῦ πολέμου ἡ Διὸς “Ἑλένη φασί, καὶ Πέρσαις ,
᾿ A Ψ 3 ε ᾽ὔ 4 Ee
πρὸς τοὺς “EAAnvas "Αάτοσσα ἡ Δαρείου γυνὴ |

la / 7 θ 9 4. 8 i
ποθήσασα θεραπαίνας κτήσασθαι “Arricds,® καὶ
τοῦ μακροῦ πολέμου τοῖς “KAAnot τὸ πινάκιον τὸ

Α o~ 7 / 4 \ 3 f
κατὰ τῶν Μεγαρέων. Μάγνητας δὲ καὶ “Edeoious
2 Ay, > doe 4 Qi , ‘
és πόλεμον ἀκρὶς ἐξῆψε, περιστερὰ δὲ Χάονας καὶ
Ἰλλυριούς, Θηβαῖοι δ᾽ <ot>* ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πρὸς

Ῥ i ὑπὲρ κυνὸς πολεμῆσαι λέ
ὠὡμαίους ὑπὲρ κυνὸς πολεμῆσαι λέγονται.

28, Λέγει τις λόγος" Πυθοχάρην τὸν αὐλητὴν
ἀναστεῖλαι λύκων ὁρμὴν αὐλήσαντα σύντονον καὶ
γενναῖον αὔλημα. μυιῶν δὲ πλῆθος ἀνέστησε
Μεγαρέας, Φασηλίτας δὲ σφῆκες, σκολόπενδραι δὲ
"Ροιτιεῖς.

1 ὑπήνην δασεῖαν.
3 Rewke: κάλλεα.

5 χήν) add. Schn.
? of) add. H.

2 <rév> add. H.
4 Ges: ἐλέφας.
8 ᾿Αττικὰς καὶ lddas.

@ See Hdt. 3. 134.

> Pericles in 432 B.c. attempted to stop Megara from trading
in the Aegean, and so starve it into surrender. This was a
contributory cause of the Peloponnesian war. —

394

Se oo:
Le PT iPS Eib:

δὰ
᾿

ON ANIMALS, XI. 26-28

the male Dragon has the crest and the beard; and
the Cock too has the comb and the wattles; and the
Stag has the horns, the Lion the mane, the male
Cicada the voice.

27. The war between the Achaeans and Trojans Small causes
was caused, they say, by Helen the daughter of τοῖον
Zeus; the war of the Persians against the Greeks
was caused by Atossa the wife of Darius who had
conceived a desire to obtain Athenian women for
her service ; * and the long war in Greece ὃ was due
to the proclamation directed against the people of
Megara. The people of Magnesia 5 and of Ephesus
were roused to war by a locust; the people of
Chaonia ὦ and of Moesia by a dove; and the people
of Thebes in Egypt are said to have made war
against the Romans because of a dog.¢

28. There is a story that Pythochares the piper Victor and
repelled an attack of wolves by playing a loud and ™***
noble strain on his pipe. And a swarm of flies
drove out the people of Megara, wasps the people
of Phaselis,f and centipedes the people of Rhoeteum.s

¢ Magnesia on the river Maeander rivalled Ephesus in
importance, but was destroyed by the Ephesians in the middle
of the 7th cent..B.c. The reference to a locust has not been
explained. ἣν

@ The Chaones were a powerful tribe in Epirus. The‘ dove’
may conceal a reference to the oracle at Dodona, whose
priestesses were called ‘doves’; ep. Hdt. 2. 57. But of a
war between the Chaones and their northern neighbours the
Tllyrians nothing is known. Moesia lay some hundreds of
miles N of Epirus beyond mt Haemus. 7

¢ Nothing is known of this. |

J Town on the E coast of Lycia.

¢ Town NE of Troy on the Hellespont.

395

ἌΒΙΙΑΝ

29. ἸΪρόβατα ἄχολα ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ φασίν, ἐν δὲ
τῇ Νάξῳ τῇ νήσῳ δίχολα.

30. “O μέροψ <6>1 ὄρνις ταύτῃ. τοι δοκεῖ
ὃ ld B ρ ip « > Ε ᾿ dls s 2 id :
LKQLOTEPOS εἶναι τῶν πελαργῶν: οὐ yap ἀναμένει
eA f ~
γηράσαντας τρέφειν * τοὺς πατέρας, ἀλλ᾽ ἅμα τῷ
~ x 3 ~
φῦσαι τὰ ὠκύπτερα τοῦτο ἐργάζεται.3

31. Ἴδιον δὲ ἄρα τῶν ζῴων καὶ ἐκεῖνο ἀγαθόν.
πρόνοιαν αὐτῶν ot * θεοὶ ποιοῦνται, καὶ οὔτε αὐτῶν
καταφρονοῦσιν οὔτε ὅ μὴν ὀλιγώρως ἔχουσιν. εἰ γὰρ
καὶ ἀμοιρεῖ λόγου, ἀλλὰ γοῦν συνέσεως καὶ τῆς
καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ σοφίας οὐκ ἀτυχεῖ.5 ὅπως οὖν Τ καὶ
αὐτὰ φιλεῖται θεοῖς ἐρῶ, καὶ εἰ μὴ πολλὰ ἐκ
πολλῶν, ὅσα δ᾽ οὖν ἀποχρήσει.8 ἀνὴρ ἱππεύς,9
Ληναῖος τὸ ὄνομα, ἵππον εἶχεν ἰδεῖν μὲν ὡραῖον,
δραμεῖν δὲ ὥὦκιστον, τὸν δὲ θυμὸν ἀνδρειότατον"
καὶ ἀγαθὸν μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἐπιδείξεσι τὴν ἱππείαν
περιδραμεῖν τὴν δεδιδαγμένην, καρτερικὸν δὲ ἐν
αὐτῷ τῷ πολέμῳ, καὶ διῶξαι ἔνθα ἣν καιρὸς καὶ
ἀναχωρῆσαι ὅπου αὐτὸν (ἡ 190 χρεία παρεκάλει
πάνυ γεννικόν. οὐκοῦν ἐκ τούτων ἁπάντων 6 μὲν
κτῆμα ἦν ἀγαθόν, ὁ δὲ εὐκλεέστατος ἐν τοῖς ὁμοτέχ-
νοις ἱππεῦσιν ἐδόκει. ὅ. τοίνυν ἵππος ὃ τοιοῦτος
τὴν ἱππικὴν ἀρετὴν θατέρῳ τοῖν ὀφθαλμοῖν τῷ
δεξιῷ ὑπό τινος πληγῆς προσπεσούσης ὁρᾶν ἀδύ-
νατὸς ἦν. οὐκοῦν ὃ Ληναῖος ὁρῶν ἑαυτοῦ σαλεύ-

: (ὁ) add. Η. “- 2 ἐκτρέφειν.
Nas ἐργάζεται καὶ ἔστι δικαιότερος καὶ εὐσεβέστερος ὀρνίθων
ἁπάντων.

4 καὶ oi. 5 οὐδέ.

8 ἔστιν ἀτυχῆ. Ἰ δ᾽ οὖν.

396

ON ANIMALS, XI. 29-31

29. They say that the Sheep of Pontus have no The Sheep

gall-bladder, whereas those on the isle of Naxos have δὲ Fouts
two. Naxos

30. The Bee-eater appears to be more dutiful than The Bee-
the stork, for this reason: it does not wait for its °°
parents to grow old before it starts to feed them,
but does so directly it grows its quill-feathers.

31. Here is another characteristic of animals and Serapls
restores 8

a good one. The gods take thought for them, yore’s eye

neither looking down upon them nor reckoning them
of small account. For although destitute of reason-
ing power, at any rate they possess understanding
and knowledge proportionate to their needs. And I
will explain how they are beloved of the gods, not
by many examples taken from a multitude but by a
sufficient number.

A cavalry officer of the name of Lenaeus owned a
horse of fine appearance, very fleet of foot and of
dauntless spirit; in displays it was good at running
the course it had been taught; in war itself it was
capable of endurance; and was quite excellent both
in pursuit, when occasion arose, and in retreat, where
necessity called for it. And in consequence of all
this the horse was a valued possession, and the
owner was accounted most fortunate by his fellow
cavalrymen. Now the horse, with the excellent
qualities I have described, in consequence of a blow
which it received in its right eye was incapacitated
for seeing. Accordingly Lenaeus seeing all his

8 ἀποχρήσει τοσαῦτα. 5. Jac: ἱππεὺς τὴν στρατιάν.

10. «ἡν add. Η.

397

-AELIAN

ουσαν τὴν πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα ἐν τῷ τοῦ ἵππου τοῦ
εὐγενοῦς ἐκείνου πάθει, ἐπεὶ 1 Kat ἡ ἀσπὶς 7
ἱππικὴ τὸν λαιὸν ὀφθαλμόν οἱ ἔσκεπε τὸν μόνον
ὁρῶντα, ἐς τοῦ Σαράπιδος ἔρχεται, θεράπευμα 3

>. ἢ 4 ? a
ἀνάγων καὶ μάλα ἄηθες ὃ τὸν ἵππον, καὶ δεῖται.

τοῦ θεοῦ ws ὑπὲρ ἀδελφοῦ τινος ἢ υἱοῦ 6 Ληναῖος
τοῦ ἵππου οἰκτεῖραι τὸν ἱκέτην, καὶ ταῦτα ἀδική-
σαντα οὐδὲ ἕν. εἶναι γάρ τοι ὦ ἀνθρώπους σφίσι
κακῶν αἰτίους ἢ δράσαντάς τι ἀσεβὲς ἢ εἰπόντας
τι ἀπόφημον" “ἵππου δὲ ἔλεγε ποία μὲν θεοσυλία,
φόνος δὲ τίς, βλασφημία δὲ πῶς ἢ πόθεν ἐμαρ-
τύρατο δὲ τὸν θεὸν καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς οὐδεπώποτε
οὐδένα οὐδὲν ἀδικήσας, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τὸν συστρατι-
ὦτην οἱ καὶ φίλον ἐδεῖτο τῆς ὀφθαλμίας ἀπαλλάξαι.
ὁ δὲ οὐχ ὑπερορᾷ οὐδὲ ἐξε αὔὕλισε τὸν ἄλογόν τε
καὶ ἄφωνον ἰάσασθαι, ὧν τοσοῦτος θεός, καὶ διὰ
ταῦτα οἰκτείρει καὶ τὸν νοσοῦντα καὶ τὸν δεόμενον
ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ δίδωσιν ἴασιν μὴ καταιονεῖν μὲν
τὸν ὀφθαλμόν, πυριάσεσι δὲ αὐτὸν ἀλεαίνειν μεσού-
ons ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ τοῦ νεὼ περιβόλῳ. καὶ ταῦτα
μὲν ἐπράττετο, ἐρρώσθη δὲ τῷ ἵππῳ τὸ ὄμμα.
καὶ O μὲν Ληναῖος χαριστήριά τε κα! ξωάγρια
ἀπέθυεν, 6 δὲ ἕππος ἐσκίρτα τε καὶ 6 ἐφριμάττετο
καὶ ἐδόκει μείζων τε καὶ ὡραιότερος, καὶ ἦν
φαιδρὸς καὶ τῷ βωμῷ προσθέων ἐκυδροῦτο, καὶ
μέντοι καὶ πρὸς τοῖς ἀναβαθμοῖς καλινδούμενος
ἑωρᾶτο τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρι χαριστήρια ἐκτίνων,
ἧπερ οὖν ἔσθενεν.

1 ἐπεὶ τὰ ἄλλα. . θρέ ἔμ
3 Reiske: ἀληθές uss, adding & pes οὖν ἱερεῖον, del. Ἡ,
4 tiv. 5 ἀπαλλάξαι τὸν θεόν.

6

398

4 4
τε Kal περὶ τὸν νεών.

ON ANIMALS, ΧΙ. 31

hopes anchored upon the condition of his noble horse
(the cavalry shield covered the left eye which alone
could see), went to the temple of Serapis bringing a
patient of a most unusual kind,—his horse, and, as
though he were pleading for a brother or a son,
implored the god for the horse’s sake to have com-
passion on his suppliant, especially as it had done
no wrong. For men, he said, may bring misfortune
upon themselves either by some impious act or
some blasphemous speech. ‘ But what sacrilege,’ he
exclaimed, ‘ or what murder has a horse committed,
and how and by what means has it blasphemed ?’
And he called the god to witness that he himself had
never wronged any man, and for this reason he
implored the god to relieve his comrade-in-arms and
friend of its blindness. And the god, although so
mighty, did not neglect or scorn to heal the dumb
beast, and therefore took pity both on the sick
animal and on the man who besought him on its
behalf, and prescribed a cure, not by fomenting the
eye but by warming it with vapour baths at midday
in the temple precinct. So this was done and the
eye of the horse was restored. And Lenaeus
sacrificed thank-offerings and donations for its re-
covery, while the horse pranced and snorted and
seemed larger and more beautiful and was full of
joy, and speeding to the altar moved so proudly, and
as it rolled in front of the steps was seen to be giving
thanks with all its might to the god who had healed
it.

399

AELIAN

32, Ἔν. ἀμπελῶνι 1 δὲ γεωργὸς eipyalero τάφ-
ρον, ἵνα ἐμφυτεύσῃ * κλῆμα καλόν 8 τε καὶ εὐγενές"
εἶτα τὴν σμινύην καταφέρων ὑ ὑποικουροῦσαν ἀσπίδα
ἱερὰν καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἢ ἥκιστα ἐχθρὰν λαθὼν διέκοψε

μέσην. καὶ τὴν γῆν διαξαίνων τὸ μὲν᾽ οὐραῖον

βλέπων τῇ ψάμμῳ κατειλημένον,: τὸ δὲ ἡμίτομον

τὸ ἐκ τῆς γαστρὸς ἐς τὴν δέρην aviov ἔτι ἕρπον
καὶ τοῦ λύθρου τοῦ διὰ τὴν τομὴν πεπληρωμένον,
ἐκπλήττεται, καὶ ἔκῴρων γενόμενος ἔς τε ὀρθὴν
μανίαν καὶ ὡς πὰ μάλιστα ἰσχυρὰν ἐκφοιτᾷ. καὶ
μεθ’ ἡμέραν ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ ee λογισμοῦ ἦν
ἀκράτωρ καὶ μέντοι καὶ νύκτωρ ὅ ἦν παράφορος,
καὶ ἐκ τοῦ λέχους ἀνεθόρνυτο καὶ ἔλεγε τὴν
ἀσπίδα διώκειν, καὶ ὥσπερ οὖν ὁμοῦ τι τῷ δήγματι
ὧν. ἐκπληκτικώτατα ἐβόα καὶ ἐκάλει συμμάχους,
καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῆς ἀνῃρημένης ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ
εἴδωλον ἔλεγεν ὃ ὁρᾶν βριμούμενόν τε καὶ ἀπειλοῦν,
καὶ ὡμολόγει ποτὲ καὶ δεδῆχθαι, καὶ ὡς ὠδυνᾶτο
ἐξ ὧν ᾧμωζεν 8 ἣν δῆλος. ἐπεὶ μέντοι ἡ νόσος
πόρρω τοῦ χρόνου ἣν, οἵ προσήκοντές οἱ τὰν
ἄνδρα ἐς τοῦ Σαράπιδος ἄγουσιν ἱκέτην, καὶ
ἐδέοντο ἀναστεῖλαι καὶ ἀφανίσαι τῆς προειρημένης
τὸ “φάσμα. οἰκτείρει μὲν οὖν τὸν ἄνδρα ὁ εὸς
καὶ ἰᾶται: ὡς δὲ ἀτιμώρητος οὐκ ἔμεινεν ἡ ἀσπὶς
εἴρηται καὶ πάνυ γε ἀποχρώντως.

33. Ταῶν δὲ ᾿Ινδικὸν δῶρον λαβὼν 6 τῶν
Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεύς, ταώνων ἰδεῖν μέγιστόν TE
καὶ ὡραιότατον, οὐκ ἀξιοῖ σὺν τοῖς ἀγελαίοις
τρέφειν, ὡς οἰκίας ἄθυρμα αὐτὸν εἶναι ἢ γαστρὸς

2 ἐμφυτευθῇ.

1 ἀμπέλῳ.
4 Cobet: κατειλημμένον MSS, ἢ.

3 καλὸν κλῆμα.
400

IDO AS OR EATIEESS EES OOIES OEI

ON ANIMALS, XI. 32-33.

32. A husbandman was digging a trench in a vine- A sacred

yard in order to plant some fine, choice cutting, when ἢ
he brought down his mattock upon a sacred Asp that
had its lair below the soil and was far from hostile to
man, and without knowing it cut the snake in half.

And as he was breaking up the soil he caught sight

of the tail involved in the sand, while the severed
portion from the belly upwards to the neck was still
crawling and covered with gore from the cut. He
was horror-struck, went out of his mind, and passed
into a state of real madness of the most acute
description. By day he lost control of himself and
of his reason; moreover at night he was in a state of
frenzy, and would leap out of bed saying that the
Asp was pursuing him, and as though he was on the
point of being bitten would utter the most horrifying
cries and shout for help. He would even say that he
saw the form of the snake which he had slain, angrily
threatening him; at times he avowed that he had
been bitten, and it was evident from his groans that
he was in pain. So.when his affliction had lasted for.
some time, his relations took him as a suppliant to the
temple of Serapisand implored the god to remove
and abolish the phantom of the aforesaid Asp. Well,
the god took pity on the man and cured him. But Ϊ
have described how the Asp had not to wait for its
revenge, and a very sufficient revenge too.

33. The King of Egypt was presented with a A sacred

Peacock from India, the largest and most magnificent
of its kind. He was unwilling to keep it along with
the common flock as a household pet or for eating,

5 νυκτός. 5 ᾧμωξεν.

401

AELIAN

᾿ χάριν, ἀλλὰ a ἀνάπτει τῷ Πολιεῖ Διί, κρίνας ἀνάθημα
ἐπάξιον τῷ θεῷ τὸν ὄρνιν τὸν προειρημένον. ἐρᾷ
τοῦτον συλλαβεῖν ἄσωτος νεανίας καὶ πάνυ γε
πλούσιος καὶ ποιήσασθαι. δεῖπνον" ἀεὶ , γὰρ τῇ
γαστρὶ ἐχαρίζετο καὶ ἐξ ἁπάσης αἰτίας ὁ ἄσωτος
οὗτος, τὸ ποικίλον τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σὺν κινδύνῳ
πορισθὲν καὶ τὸ ἐωνημένον πολλῶν πόνων 1
λαιμαργίας καὶ βδελυρίας ὑπερβολῇ κέρδος ἡγούμε-
γος ἐς ἡδονήν. μισθὸν οὖν τῆς θεοσυλίας ἁδρὸν
προτείνει τινὶ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ θεραπευτήρων, καὶ
ὑπισχνεῦται καὶ ἄλλον. ὁ δὲ ἐλπίδι κουφισθεὶς
ματαίᾳ, ἔνθα ἤδει τὸν ὄρνιν αὐλιζόμενον ἐλθὼν
ἐπεχείρει συλλαβεῖν καὶ τῷ πλουσίῳ κομίσαι.
καὶ ἐκεῖνον μὲν οὐχ ὁρᾷ, μεγίστην ᾿δὲ ἀσπίδα
ὀρθὴν εἶδε καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν τεθυμωμένην. καὶ τὰ
μὲν πρῶτα ἔδεισε καὶ ὑπαπῆλθεν," ἐγκειμένου δὲ
τοῦ ἀσώτου καὶ παρορμῶντος ὃ <uev> | 8 ὑπηρέτης
ἐπὶ τὸν ταῶν ἦλθεν, 6 δὲ ἀνωτέρω 4 ἄξας καὶ
ἑαυτὸν τοῖς πτεροῖς μετεωρίσας καὶ ἀρθεὶς κοῦφος
οὔτε ἐπί τι τῶν ἱερῶν δένδρων ἐκάθισεν οὔτε ἐπ᾽
ἄλλον μετέωρόν τε καὶ ὑψηλὸν χῶρον, ἀλλὰ ἐπὶ τὸ
μέσον τοῦ νεώ καὶ ἐς αὐτοὺς ἀτρέπτως ἑώρα,
οἷον ὑποφαίνων ὃ ὅτι ἄρα τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς. «ἐξ 6
ἐκείνων κρείττων πέφυκε, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς
ἑλεῖν αὐτόν. οὐκοῦν ἐπεὶ μηδὲν ,“ἦνυστο, ὅπερ ἦν
προδοὺς ἀργύριον ὁ ἄσωτος ἀπήτει «λαβεῖν, ὁ δὲ
οὐκ ἀπεδίδου λέγων ποιῆσαι μὲν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ πάντα,
ἀδύνατος δὲ εἶναι θεῶν κτῆμα ὑφελέσθαι. οἷα

1 πολλῶν ὥνων V, πολλοῦ τρόπῳ most MSS.

ἀπῆλθεν Η. 3 <uev> add. Η.

4 > fa
ἀμφοτέρων.
5 ἐπί τι μέσον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ νεώ.

402

ON ANIMALS, XI. 33

but attached it to the temple of Zeus Protector of —
the City, judging the aforesaid bird to bean offering
worthy of the god. This bird a dissolute youth of
considerable wealth longed to capture and to make
a meal of, for he habitually indulged his appetite on
any and every pretext, and in his extravagant
gluttony and depravity he regarded variety of food
and what had been acquired by dangerous means
and what had been purchased at the cost of immense
trouble as an accession to his pleasure. Accordingly.
he offered one of the attendants on the god a sub-
stantial bribe to commit sacrilege, and promised
him a further sum besides. And the man elated by
a vain hope went to the spot where he knew the bird
lodged and tried to lay hands on it and bring it to
his rich patron. But the bird he did not see: what
he did see was a huge asp reared up in anger against
him. At first he was afraid and made off, but when
the dissolute man insisted and urged him on, the
attendant went to get the Peacock. But the bird
sprang up out of reach and raising itself lightly
through the air on its wings, settled not upon one of
the sacred trees nor upon any other lofty and high
spot but upon the centre of the temple, and surveyed
them with an unflinching eye as though to show that.
it was too clever for their designs and that it was not
to be caught. Accordingly since the attendant had
accomplished nothing, the dissolute man demanded
the money, which he had already given, back again ;
but the other refused, saying that he had carried out
his orders but was unable to steal what belonged to
the gods. As was natural, a quarrel arose over the

tte -

© (ἐξ) add. H.
403,

AELIAN

οὖν εἰκὸς ἣν ἔρις ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ Bor ἤδη, καὶ
ἤκουον πολλοί: εἶτα ἄνεισιν ὁ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἱερεύς,
καὶ ἐρωτᾷ τῆς ἐν τῷ νεῷ φιλονικίας τὴν ὑπόθεσιν,
καὶ ἐλέγχουσιν ἀλλήλους. καὶ 6 μὲν πλούσιος
᾿ἀπειλαῖς καὶ βλασφημίαις καὶ λοιδορίαις αἰκισθεὶς
ἀπαλλάττεται καὶ ὄρνιθος ἄλλου καταπιὼν ὀστοῦν
καὶ ὀδυνώμενος τὸν βίον κατέστρεψεν ἀλγεινότατα,
τὸν δὲ ὑπηρέτην τὸν κακὸν οἷα δήπου ἱερόσυλον ὁ
τῆς πόλεως ἁρμοστὴς ἐκόλασε, τὸν δὲ ὄρνιν οὔτε
ζῶντα οὔτε νεκρὸν ἐθεάσαντο, ἀλλὰ ἑκατὸν ὡς
λόγος ἔτη διαβιώσας εἶτα ἠφανίσθη.

“ " ς a
34. Kai ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἔοικε τούτῳ Kat ὁμολογεῖ.

Κίσσος ὄνομα θεραπεύων τὸν Σάραπιν ἰσχυρῶς,
ἐπιβουλευθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς πρότερον μὲν ἐρωμένης
ὕστερον δὲ γαμετῆς, καὶ φὰ Opews φαγών,
ὠδυνᾶτο καὶ ἑαυτοῦ κακῶς εἶχε, καὶ ἐπίδοξος
τεθνήξεσθαι ἦν. δεῖται δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ δὲ προσέταξε
πρίασθαι μύραιναν ζῶσαν, καθεῖναι δὲ τὴν χεῖρα
ἐς τὸ Cwypetov.t καὶ 6 Kiooos πείθεται καὶ
καθίησιν, ἡ δὲ ἐμφῦσα εἴχετο, ἀποσπωμένη δὲ καὶ
τὴν νόσον τὴν ἐν τῷ νεανίᾳ συναπέσπασεν .”
ὑπηρέτις μὲν δὴ θεοῦ θεραπείας ἡ μύραινα αὕτη
γενομένη ἐς 3 ἀκοὴν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀφίκετο.

35. Χρύσερμον δὲ 4 ἐπὶ Νέρωνος αἷμα ἀνεμοῦντα

ld

: , 7 ς
καὶ τηκόμενον ἤδη, αἷμα ταύρου πιόντα ἰάσατο ὁ

( é ~ Ὁ be J
αὐτὸς οὗτος θεός. ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ταῦτα, ὅτι ἐς
“-- ~ ~ S ¢ Ἁ € \
τοσοῦτον dpa τὰ ζῷα θεοφιλῆ ἐστιν, ὡς καὶ ὑπὸ
~ γ΄ 3 fa ᾽ὔ
τῶν θεῶν σώζεσθαι, καὶ σώζειν ἐκείνων βουλομέ-
£ ζώγριον 2 συνέσπασεν.
8. καὶ εἷς. ἃ re,

404

ON ANIMALS, XI. 5-ς

affair and presently there was shouting, and many
people heard the noise. Next, the chief priest
arrived and enquired what was the reason of this
wrangling in the temple, and the men began to
accuse one another. And the rich man, outraged
by threats, blasphemy, and abuse, took his departure,
and after swallowing the bone of another bird was in
pain and died in agonies, while the wicked attendant
was punished by the governor of the city for sacrilege.
As for the bird, it was not seen either alive or dead,
but the story goes that after living for a hundred
years it disappeared.

34. The following story too is like the above and
concurs with it. One Cissus by name, a devoted

servant of Serapis, was the victim of a plot on the *etpis

part of a woman whom he had once loved and later '
married: he ate some eggs of a snake, which caused
him pain; he was in a grievous state and in danger
of death. But he prayed to the god, who bade him
buy a live Moray and thrust his hand into the
creature’s tank. Cissus obeyed and thrust in his
hand. And the Moray fastened on and clung to
him, but when it was pulled off it pulled away the
sickness from the young man at the same time. It
was because this Moray was a minister of the god’s
healing power that the tale reached my hearing.

35. And this same god in the days of Nero cured ures

Chrysermus who was vomiting blood and already
beginning to waste away, by means of a draught of
bull’s blood. And I mention these facts because
animals are so dearly beloved by the gods that their
lives are saved by them, and when the gods desire,

405

AELIAN

νῶν ἑτέρους. ἀτὰρ οὖν καὶ Βάσιλιν 1 τὸν Κρῆτα ἐ ἐς
νόσον φθίσεως ἐμπεσόντα ἐξάντη. τοῦ τοσούτου
κακοῦ ὅδε ὁ ὁ θεὸς εἰργάσατο ὀνείων κρεῶν γευσάμε-
vov. καὶ προσέπεσε γενέσθαι αὐτῷ Kara.” τὸ
ὄνομα τοῦ ζῴου" ἔφατο γὰρ ὀνησιφόρον ot
ταύτην ἔσεσθαι τὴν θεραπείαν. καὶ ἴασιν. καὶ
ὑπὲρ μὲν τούτων ἀπόχρη καὶ ταῦτα.

36. Ἴδια δὲ ἄρα τῶν ζῴων καὶ ἐκεῖνα. αἱ
ε

ἵπποι ἐς ἁρματηλασίαν ἐπιτηδειόταται 4 εἶναι
πιστεύονται. πυνθάνομαι δὲ τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς
πωλευτικοὺς λέγειν ὅτι ἄρα χαίρουσιν ἵπποι
λουτρῷ τε καὶ ἀλοις ὅτι δὲ καὶ μύρῳ ἐχρίοντο
ἵπποι, Σημωνίδης ° ἐν τοῖς ἰάμβοις λέγει. Ἰϊέρσαι
δὲ “μετὰ τὴν Κύρου μάχην τὴν ἐν Λυδίᾳ καμήλους
τοῖς ἵπποις συντρέφουσι, τὸ δέος τῶν ἵππων τὸ ἐκ
τῶν καμήλων ἐς αὐτοὺς ἐξαπτόμενον ἐκβάλλειν
πειρώμενοι τῇ συντροφίᾳ.

37. καλεῖται δὲ σελάχια ὅσα οὐκ ἔχει λεπίδας"

εἴη § δ᾽ ἂν eae γόγγρος νάρκη τρυγὼν βοῦς.

γαλεός" .7 δελφὶς φάλλαινα. φώκη. ταῦτα δὲ
apa, μόνα, τῶν ἐνύδρων ξῳοτοκεῖ. μαλάκια δὲ
καλεῖται ὅ ὅσα 8 ἀνόστεά ἐστι 9 καὶ εἴη ἂν πολύπους
σηπία ᾿" τευθὶς ἀκαλήφη. ταῦτά τοι καὶ αἵματος
ἄμοιρα. καὶ σπλάγχνων ἐστί. μαλακόστρακα δὲ
ἀστακοὶ καρίδες καρκίνοι πάγουροι: ἀποδύεται δὲ

i Βάθυλιν, -ἤλυν, -ελιν. 3. παρά.

3 ἐκεῖνα λέγεται. 4 ἐπιτηδειότεραι.
5 Σιμωνέδης MSS, edd. 6 εἶεν MSS.

7 Lacuna : (κήτη δέ) add. Jac.

8 ὅσα τῶν ἐνύδρων. ες 9 Jac: εἶσι.

4ο6.

ΡΥ he ταδὶ = anes vies dt wanes) a ede BEIE I EESSRNG abs bbiifencts Meese cneapamaaaretep t Ἔτι os ᾿ ἘΟΕΡΎΡΎΨ: Ἂ ὡ μέλεα SGD ΟΣ: ἘΜΉΝ
a -ΠΠὁὈὁΒΠΠἠ᾽ι Π Ππ'΄ῤῥ

LEGS,

54: 1:

RE

1...

fesse ASTI ΡΣ
πο SU Ds st

=

ON ANIMALS, XI, 35-37

they save others. It was this god (Serapis) who
when Basilis the Cretan fell into a wasting disease,
rid him of this terrible complaint by causing him to
eat the flesh of an ass. And the result was in
accordance with the name of the beast, for the god
said that this treatment and remedy would be of
ass-istance to him.
On these topics enough has been said.

36. Here are further peculiarities of animals. The Horse

Mares are believed to be most suitable for drawing
chariots. And I learn that trainers assert that
horses delight in being washed and anointed. And
Semonides in his iambics [ fr. 7. 57 D] says that
horses were even rubbed with perfume. And the
Persians, since the battle which Cyrus fought in
Lydia,* keep camels together with their horses, and
attempt by so doing to rid horses of the fear which

camels inspire in them.

37. Fishes that have no scales are called.‘ carti- Various
for example, the moray, the conger-eel, the animal
the torpedo, the sting-ray, the horned-ray, the dog- world

laginous °:

fish; <‘ cetaceans’), the dolphin, the whale, the
‘seal; these are the only aquatic creatures that are
viviparous. ‘Cephalopod mollusca’ is the name
given to those that have no bones: for example, the
octopus, the cuttlefish, the squid, the sea-anemone}
these have no blood and no intestines. ‘Crustacea,’
lobsters, prawns, crabs of all kinds; these slough

® He defeated Croesus, ἘΠῚ of Lydia, 546 8.6.
δ See 9.6 note c.

10 σηπία {τεῦθοςΣ τευθίς add. Wellmann.

407

AELIAN

καὶ τὸ γῆρας ταῦτα. ὀστρακόδερμα δὲ ὄστρεα
πορφύραι κήρυκες στρόμβοι ἐχῖνοι κάραβοι. καρ-
χαρόδοντα δὲ 1 λύκος κύων λέων πάρδαλις. ταῦτά
τοι 3 καὶ σαρκῶν ἐσθίει. ἀμφώδοντα 3 δὲ ἀνθρω-
πος ἵππος ὄνος, ἅπερ οὖν ζκαὶδ ἃ πιμελὴν ἔχει.

συνόδοντα δὲ βοῦς πρόβατον αἴξ. χαυλιόδοντα δὲ

2 co” , \ 4 7 ”
ὗς 6 ἄγριος σπάλαξ' τὸν yap ἐλέφαντα od φημι
ὀδόντας ἔχειν ἀλλὰ κέρατα. ἔντομα δὲ σφὴξ
μέλιττα: λέγουσι δὲ μηδὲ πνεύμονας ἔχειν ταῦτα.
ἀμφίβια δὲ ἵππος ποτάμιος evvdpis κάστωρ
7 \ \ ~ | Ae
κροκόδιλος. φολιδωτὰ δὲ σαῦρος σαλαμάνδρα
χελώνη κροκόδιλος ὄφις" ταῦτα δὲ καὶ τὸ γῆρας
ἀποδύεται πλὴν κροκοδίλου καὶ χελώνης. μώνυχα
δὲ ἵππος ὄνος. δίχηλα δὲ βοῦς ἔλαφος ὃ αἷξ οἷς
χοῖρος. πολυσχιδῆ δὲ ἄνθρωπος κύων. στεγανό-
ὃ ὃ 4 6 \ λ ’ 7 a 4 ?
ποδα (δὲν ® καὶ πλατυώνυχα κύκνος χήν. γαμψώ-
νυχα δὲ 8 ἱέρακες ἄετοί. τὴν δὲ ὃ τῶν ἄλλων
ζῴων ἰδιότητα ἀλλαχοῦ εἶπον. |

38. Φιλότεκνον δὲ dpa Cov ἦν καὶ 6 χηναλώπηξ,
καὶ ταὐτὰ τοῖς πέρδιξι δρᾷ. καὶ γὰρ οὗτος πρὸ
τῶν νεοττῶν ἑαυτὸν κυλίει, καὶ ἐνδίδωσιν ἐλπίδα
[4 “ “ς“ ἃ ~ 3 la ξ \ > fa
ὡς θηράσοντι αὐτὸν τῷ ἐπιόντι: οἱ δὲ ἀποδιδράσ-
κουσιν ἐν 10 τῷ τέως. ὅταν δὲ πρὸ ὁδοῦ γένωνται,
καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἑαυτὸν τοῖς πτεροῖς. ἐλαφρίσας ἀπαλ-
λάττεται.

1 4 4 ῳ A} 5 7
δὲ στρογγύλους ἔχοντα τοὺς ὀδόντας.
2 μέντοι. 8. ἀμφόδοντα ἢ].
4 <at> add. H. 5 Ges: ἐλέφας.
8 {δέν add. H.
7 χὴν, δερμόπτερος δὲ νυκτερίς.
8 % t 4 1 τ᾿ > f
δὲ ols Kal τὸ ῥάμφος ἐπικαμπές.
9 Reiske: δὲ ἄλλην. 10 of νεοττοὶ ἐν.

408

DI

GEE

is

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ON ANIMALS, XI. 37-38

their ‘old age.’ ‘ Testacea,’ oysters, purple shell-
fish, whelks, trumpet-shells,* sea-urchins, crayfish.
‘Saw-toothed’ animals are the wolf, the dog, the
lion, the leopard; these, you know, are carnivorous.
Incisor-teeth in both jaws are found in man, horses,
and asses, and these creatures have fat. Animals
whose upper and lower teeth meet evenly are the
ox, the sheep, the goat. Animals with projecting
teeth, the wild boar, the blind-rat; the elephant,
I maintain, has horns, not teeth. Insects, the wasp,
the bee; these are even said to have no lungs.
‘ Amphibians,’ the hippopotamus, the otter, the
beaver, the crocodile. Scaley creatures, the lizard,
the salamander, the tortoise, the crocodile, the
snake; and these also, with the exception of the
tortoise and the crocodile, slough their ‘ old age.’
Animals with uncloven hoofs, the horse, the ass; —
cloven-hoofed animals, the ox, the stag, the goat,
the sheep, the pig. Creatures with toes, men and
dogs. Web-footed and flat-nailed creatures, the
swan, the goose. Creatures with crooked talons,
hawks and eagles. J have mentioned elsewhere the
distinguishing marks of other animals.

38. It seems that the Egyptian Goose also is
devoted to its offspring and behaves as partridges
do. For it also rolls on the ground in front of its
young and affords its pursuer the hope of catching
it; meantime the chicks make their escape. And
when they are some distance away, the parent also
takes wing and is off.

@ Ἰζήρυξ and στρόμβος appear to be synonyms for ‘ whelk,’
and both were used as conchs or trumpets.

409

AELIAN |

39. Λέγουσι δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν ἱέρακα ζῶντα μὲν
καὶ ἔτι περιόντα θεοφιλῆ ὄρνιν εἶναι, τοῦ βίου δὲ
ἀπελθόντα καὶ μαντεύεσθαι καὶ ὀνείρατα ἐπιπέμ.-
πεῖν, ἀποδυσάμενον τὸ σῶμα καὶ ψυχὴν γεγενημέ-

7 ,
νον γυμνήν. λέγουσι δὲ Alydrrio.! καὶ τρίποδα.

c? 3 3 - “ f \ e a?

ἱέρακα. map αὐτοῖς φανῆναί ποτε, καὶ ὑγιᾶ
~ 7 “

δοκοῦσι 3 λέγειν τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν.

40. Πέρδικες of Παφλαγόνες δικάρδιοί εἰσιν,
4 >
ὥσπερ οὖν Θεόφραστος λέγει. καὶ Θεόπομπος
λέγει τοὺς ἐν Βισαλτίᾳ λαγὼς διπλᾶ ἥπατα ἔχειν
ἕκαστον. λέγει δὲ ᾿Απίων, εἰ μὴ τερατεύεται, καὶ
oy 7
ἐλάφους νεφροὺς τέτταρας ἔχειν κατά τινας
, λ , Sa ἢ 24 ἢ 2 9 , 4
τόπους. Λέγει d€ ὁ αὐτὸς Kat kar ᾿Ατώθιδα
τὸν Μήνιδος ὅ δικέφαλον γέρανον φανῆναι, καὶ
0 - 4 Ad 5 \ 3.3 » ‘ ?
εὐθενῆσαι τὴν Atyumrov: καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἄλλου βασιλέως
, ~ ἮΝ
τετρακέφαλον ὄρνιν, καὶ πλημμυρῆσαι τὸν Νεῖλον
e v : : eee o~ ;
ws οὔποτε, καὶ καρπῶν ἀφθονίαν γενέσθαι καὶ
εὐποτμίαν Aniwy θαυμαστήν. τετράκερων δὲ ἔλα-
gov Νικοκρέων ὁ ἸΚύπριος ἔσχε, καὶ ἀνέθηκε
Πυθοῖ καὶ ὑπέγραψε

“-᾿ με A: ΄- λ ? - > 3 ,
ons ἕνεκεν, Λητοῦς τοξαλκέτα κοῦρ᾽, ἐπινοίας
Fa 353.ϑ ὦ
τήνδ ἕλε Νικοκρέων τετράκερων ἔλαφον.

καὶ μέντοι καὶ τετράκερω πρόβατα ἐν τῷ τοῦ
Διὸς τοῦ Ἰ]ολιέως ἦν καὶ τρίκερω. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ
πεντάποδα βοῦν ἱερὸν ἐθεασάμην, ἀνάθημα τῷ θεῷ
τῷδε ἐν τῇ πόλει τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρέων τῇ μεγάλῃ, ἐν
1 οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι. = ὑγιῆ.
8. Ges: δοκοῦσιν εἶναι.

4 Bunsen: κατὰ τὸν Οἴνιδα Mss, H.
5 M. βασιλεύοντα.

410

ON ANIMALS, XI. 39-40

39. The Egyptians say that the Hawk while alive The Haws

and active is beloved of the gods, and when it has_
departed this life and shed its body and become a
disembodied spirit, it prophesies and sends dreams.
And the Egyptians say that a Hawk with three legs

once appeared among them, and believers accept the

statement as sound. 7

40. The Partridges of Paphlagonia have two hearts, Freaks of
according to Theophrastus [ fr. 182]. And Theo- meagre

pompus says that Hares in Bisaltia have each of them
a double liver. And Apion says—unless he is
romancing—that the Stags in certain districts have
four kidneys. And the same writer states that in
the time of Atothis * son of Menis there appeared a
Crane with two heads, and that there was prosperity
in Egypt; and in the reign of another King there
appeared a bird with four heads, and the Nile over-
flowed as never before and the fruits were abundant
and the crops flourished marvellously. Nicocreon
of Cyprus possessed a Deer with four horns; this he
gave as an offering at Delphi and wrote beneath it:

‘ It was thy doing, O son of Leto, mighty archer,
that Nicocreon captured this four-horned deer.’

Moreover there were even Sheep with four horns
and with three horns in the temple of Zeus, the
Guardian of the City. And I myself have seen® a
sacred Ox with five feet which was an offering to this
god in the great city of Alexandria, in the far-famed

@ Atothis (or Ath-) was the second king of the First Dynasty,
fi. δ. 3140 B.0.; he built the palace at Memphis,
ὁ See vol. I, p. xij, note 2.

AIL:

AELIAN

. » 3 / ~ “- ᾿ ‘
τῷ ἀδομένῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄλσει, ἔνθα περσέαι
’ Ἀ “Ὁ ~
σύμφυτοι σκιὰν περικαλλῆ Kat ψῦξιν 3 ἀπεδείκνυντο.

1 4 , ? “~ ΝᾺ ᾿ ἷ
καὶ ἣν μόσχος ἐνταῦθα τὴν χρόαν κηρῷ mpoce-
3, 3

κασμένος, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὥμου πόδα ἀπηρτημένον
εἶχε περίεργον 8 μὲν ὅσα ἐπιβῆναι, τέλειον δὲ
ὅσα ἐς πλάσιν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δοκεῖ τῇ φύσει
ὁμολογεῖν οὐ πάνυ τι, ἐγὼ δὲ ὅσα ἐς ἐμὴν ὄψιν
τε καὶ ἀκοὴν ἀφίκετο εἶπον.

1 καλουμένῳ. 2 ὄψιν.

ὅ συνεργόν MSS, ἀσύνεργον Ges. 4 πάντη.

412

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ON ANIMALS, XI. 40

grove of the god, where the persea-trees close-
planted afforded the loveliest shade and coolness.
And there was a Calf with the colour of wax, and it
had a foot attached to its shoulder which was super-
fluous for walking although it was perfectly formed.
True, these phenomena appear far from conformity
to nature, but I have reported what I myself have
seen and heard.

413